


Fighting for Royalty

by klutzyZombie



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Minecraft, Kings AU, Mad King Ryan, descriptions of violence and death, minecraft au, nothing major or too bad but it does happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-03-16 12:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3488354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/klutzyZombie/pseuds/klutzyZombie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the mountains there was a mighty kingdom led by a fair king with ink running up his arms as beautiful and colorful as the the sun rising over the sea. He ruled his kingdom with understanding and kindness, making him loved and cherished by all who crossed his path. But when a power-hungry mad man over throws him and plunges the world into his own play thing, not just the kingdom but reality itself is threatened. With the lands most powerful warrior protecting him, will anyone be able to take down the Mad King?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My friend suggested I make the little one shot I wrote [ by the same name ](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3470663) its own story and since I couldn't get ideas for it out of my head, here it is. An expanded and going to be lengthy fic to the one shot I wrote with Gemini Club's song 'Future Tidings' playing on repeat. I hope you enjoy the read as I have a lot planned for this story and I want to give a shout out to my wonderful beta and friends Simon and Darcy for putting up with my constant freak outs over plot, patiently re-reading my work, and encouraging me to continue this. I hope you like it as much as we do and thank you for taking the time to read it.

In the mountains where grass gives way to snow kissed earth and the ocean rolls gently along shores of sand and ice there was a mighty kingdom. A tall castle stood at the highest peak with the middle tower tall enough to touch the skies above. The kingdom below was marked with buildings and homes made of wood and cobblestone, brick streets lining the way with big shady trees dotting the landscapes before spilling out into the woods with lush shades of greens. It was a nice kingdom filled with happy citizen’s led by a fair king with ink running up his arms as beautiful and colorful as the sun rising over the sea. He ruled his kingdom with understanding and kindness, making him loved and cherished by all who crossed his path.

His royal court was made up of his highness' five most trusted peers and advisers. The first was an architect named Jack with a fiery red beard and a kind smile. He’d served the king since they were children and was as loyal to the crown as if the king was his own brother. He was a big man who used an even bigger axe as his weapon of choice and along with a booming battle cry, his foes trembled before the axe was even in sight. There were few who could lift much less wield the instrument as weightless as the man did. The king trusted his judgment and level headedness in times of strife.

The next member of the court was a young mage named Ray who dressed in the nicest of suits, a beautiful rose always tucked nicely against his collar and often resting in the pages of his many spell books. He was gifted in pure magic and had a fondness for growing the beautiful red flowers that often adorned his wardrobe. His notable green thumb was not the only thing that made him an asset to the king. He was able to conjure more spells, illusions, and preform more alchemy than most people knew existed. He was a smart boy who aided the king with his enchantments and sorcery.

Michael was the kings most trusted warrior and loyal knight. He was a man with a temper as fierce as the mop of rust colored curls on his head. His weapon was a diamond infused blade, always present bear skin hide being a testament to the woods he was raised in. He led the king’s army with might and power, always coming out victorious. Willing to put his life on the line to protect the crown and what it stood for earned him the king’s unwavering respect and trust.

A former thief named Gavin fell into the court by pure accident – and quite literally – having been sent to steal the royal crown only to be caught and locked away. He’d slipped out that night and impressed the king with his archery skills, being the first to ever keep the head knight at bay for so long. After agreeing to work for the king in exchange for the charges against him to be dropped, he quickly found a home there with his charming words and mannerisms. His year long stay had become a permanent arrangement, the archer becoming a trusted friend to the king and a loyal solider.

The last member went by the name of Ryan. He was a potion master whose wisdom in the art had built him quite the well known reputation through the lands. He’d stood by the king’s side for years and though he had moments where his words came off as alarming or sinister, he was just as devoted to the crown as the rest of them. At least, it had appeared as such. The man who had stood by the king’s side for years was much more twisted than anyone had known and by the time they realized that the magician with a knack for taming animals was not all that he seemed, it was too late.

His turn was a quick and deadly nightmare. Nothing slow and drawn out like the stories make royal overthrows sound. This was bloody, awful, and sickening. King Geoff had gone out with his knights on a quest to save a village. It wasn’t anything too menacing; a large group of bandits had been terrorizing the town that was just a day’s ride away. They had made quick work of the threat and headed home without much harm done. However, when they arrived at the kingdom it became very clear something was amiss. Thick black smoke was starting to fill the air and flames became clear enough to see as they lit up the night sky. There was nobody around; at least not alive. The corpses of townspeople littered the streets and the king could only assume the scene would continue if the men searched the back streets and houses. His heart stopped at the scene and a cold chill filled his lungs. This was his kingdom! The townspeople he adored and swore to protect now lay lifeless across the very streets they had once cluttered with life and joy. The thought caused him to turn his head away and urge his horse faster towards the castle. He couldn’t focus on the lives lost now or the sickening scene would make him mourn before seeking his revenge on what had done this. The large tower that over looked the ocean was suddenly turned from welcoming to menacing; bodies of knights, villagers and servants alike littering the streets and leading to the court yard like a bloody bread crumb trail.

The king’s usually easy-going demeanor turned deadly as horrified eyes fell on the state of his kingdom and Geoff shouted for whoever was responsible to show themselves, to step forward and give even the slightest reason behind the maddening slaughter that had befallen his kingdom. He didn’t have to wait long as no sooner as he shouted had Ryan walked down the steps. His stride was slow and purposeful, most of his body still cast in shadows before he was fully revealed by the torches lining the path way. His hands and clothes were red from the bloodshed and it speckled even his face as he grinned at the group in front of him. His usual wardrobe was just that; tailored jacket and expensive kilt made from the finest of wool. But now he had Geoff’s royal cape trailing behind him as he walked, the fabric stained and turned darker by the same blood spilling over his hands and all over the courtyard.

The king stood shell shocked as his knights quickly moved in front to keep and his three advisers – Jack, Ray, and Gavin – did much the same. Ryan just looked at them amused as he continued towards them. His eyes were dark and piercing, grin sharp and predator like. He cocked his head to the side as he regarded the dark haired king and completely ignored the knights standing between them as if they were nothing. Because compared to Ryan, that was exactly what they were. If that wasn’t made apparent by the bodies at their feet than Ryan had no time to spell it out for them. He had his sights set on Geoff and only Geoff. “Your highness.” He crossed one arm over his chest as bowed, keeping his gaze locked on the king’s. “Welcome home.”

“Ryan, what have you done?!” Was all Geoff had to say as he glared at the man he had trusted to protect his kingdom- not destroy it from the inside out!

The man in front of them stood back up and looked bemused by the question. “What have I done?” He gestured around the courtyard, his face void of any regret or dismay, only pride and something else that unnerved the men in front of him. “Why I’ve cleared the way for a new era. A new king.”

Geoff’s eyes widened for a mere second but Ryan didn’t miss it. He saw the way the man seemed to connect his dots and piece it together. “You plan on over throwing me.” It wasn’t a question so Ryan didn’t answer. His grin simply grew, making his face seem twisted and not at all like the man they had thought they knew.

“Do not look so shocked, Ramsey. It was just a matter of time before this happened. It’s been in the making for years after all.” At the flash of confusion he saw in the king’s face, Ryan elaborated for the men though he never took his eyes off Geoff for a moment. This was between them. The rest were simply collateral damage. “Answer me why someone would show up on your doorstep and suddenly swear their loyalty to a king they had no connection to? Why somebody would show off their skills to impress the court enough to worm his way into it? Want to be able to become involved in decisions and personal details not otherwise leaked to castle staff or knights? What is there to gain by ‘risking your life’ in a show of ‘good faith’ so a foolish king trusts you enough to let his guard down and let you in? I had access to your riches and your resources. My power grew and grew until all I needed was an opening. Those bandits worked nicely. Dumb little things. Hardly know the value of a shilling. Easily paid off in a few jewels and empty promises.” 

Ryan paused for a beat to let his plan completely sink in, to watch the horror that flashed on the man he had once grit his teeth and called 'king' before he continued. “Send the deadly head knight on a quest you insist it urgent and lure the ever-brave king out and away to leave me in charge while he went out to stroke his own ego and look good in the public eye. What a waste of the title you are.” Ryan’s smile suddenly fell and his face distorted into something of a sickly snarl. It was if his entire demeanor shifted and he looked at Geoff as if he'd been personally wronged by the man. “A worthless, powerless man standing proudly on a throne he’s undeserving of! Sending your men out on hunts for wool and stone when they could be slaying armies and taking down dragons! Why these men,” He gestured towards the bodies scattering the courtyard. “fought to keep you in power is beyond me!” 

His voice had risen and when Ryan seemed to realize this, he composed himself again and ran a hand through his hair as he exhaled. He'd let his temper get the best of him for a moment and while he regained his cool, the men around Geoff switched into a battle ready stance. “But it matters not now.” Ryan pulled his hand away and looked down at it before the grin quirked back up the corner of his lips. His hand balled into a fist and his sharp gaze snapped back to Geoff. “You will fall just as your kingdom has.”

The remaining knights standing in front of Geoff held their stance. Ryan didn’t seemed the least bit intimidated as he simply lifted an arm into the air and a purpleish-black magic that bubbled to life from his fingertips went dancing into the night sky like flames that licking up in the wind. There it thinned and the courtyard was swiftly filled with a hazy violet mist. The men stood their guard and Geoff’s gaze narrowed on Ryan. “You will not win this battle, Ryan! You have to know that!”

The mad man simply grinned as suddenly the fallen and bloodied corpses of the bodies in the courtyard started to stir. The putrid scent of rotting flesh became almost overwhelming as the bodies scattered about came to life once more. “My dear foolish king, a battle would imply you stand a chance.” His eyes seemed to darken as his smile grew more twisted. It was if this man was no longer Ryan, but a darker being all together. His features were darker and even his eyes seemed to be a more alarming shade of blue as they narrowed in amusement. “You are not the only one with an army willing to die for you now.” Ryan finished and as if he’d snapped out some code word, the corpse army lunged for the group. Geoff unsheathed his sword just in time to hack through a man whose face he tried not to recognize. Around him his men started to fight as well and Ryan simply watched as the king’s three trusted men tried to keep as many people alive as they could. Jack swung the battle axe into a pair who were lunging for a knight who had his back turned and stopped them where they stood while Ray had summoned his weapon of choice and a long thorn-like whip hit back a group that had been advancing on him. Gavin was firing arrows two at a time, bow jerking from side to side as he jumped from target to target, having to back step to avoid the onslaught of creatures lurching forward to attack. 

Around them the knights fought hard but killing the undead was no easy feat and they fell one after another. Agonizing cries filled the air as they were ripped apart, stabbed, and defeated. Geoff fought through the army of undying men, hands gripped tightly around his blade as he set his sights on Ryan himself. The man only grinned when Geoff was close enough to attack and the motion made the king sneer as he swung the blade simply to be met with air. He blinked only a moment before Ryan’s laugh made him look to his right just in time for a sharp hit across his face to send him staggering back. Geoff gripped his sword tighter and quickly regained his footing to charge at him again and again Ryan vanished as soon as Geoff was close enough to strike. He brought his blade up this time to block the blow he knew was coming and swung the second he was clear but Ryan stepped back and easily avoided the swing. Amusement clearly written across his face and it only added fuel to the fire that was growing inside Geoff.

The king's glare narrowed. He advanced to swing again as Ryan side stepped it and just as Geoff took another step, sword swinging to where Ryan had been, the blond pivoted slightly and lunged forward. His fist hard slammed hard into the abdomen of the dark haired king. There was a pause as the blow knocked the wind out of him and his vision swam, grip loosening on the blade. Ryan swiftly moved back to grip the man’s wrist with one hand while the other snatched the blade from him and he brought a leg up to kick Geoff away. He tumbled onto his back and hit the ground with a gasp, glancing to his left where the crown that had been settled on his head rolled off and came to rest on the grass just inches away. Geoff made a move to roll over and retrieve it but never got that far before a cry was ripped out of him, his own blade piercing through his chest.

His eyes starred up at the dark sky as the cry was quickly silenced as soon as it started, not having the breath to suddenly scream as it came out in short rasps. Ryan smirked, deadly and cold. He leaned down to stare into his former king’s eyes. “Poor drunkard king Geoff; daft and deaf. He left his own people so now here they rest. No strife, not a sound, not a soul here to cry.” He moved to stand straight up again, his hand coming to rest around the hilt of Geoff’s blade. “Just the knowledge he’s failed and let his whole kingdom die.” By the end of his poem, Ryan’s voice was as dark and deadly as the look in his eyes. He paused for only a moment before forcing another scream of pain as he pulled the sword out and took a step back before tossing the blade away like it was meaningless. Geoff’s breathing was shorted now and he turned his head towards the side, weakly reaching a hand out with his remaining strength in hopes of grasping his crown.

It was dashed quickly as Ryan bent down and grabbed it, making sure he had Geoff’s gaze on him before he placed it atop his own head. No sooner was it there that an arrow whizzed by the side of his face and Ryan froze a moment as he felt a trickle of blood run down his cheek, the fletching having grazed him. His attention turned toward the three who had managed to keep his undead men at bay. Ryan only smirked. He shouldn’t be surprised. These men - while loyal to an idiotic king - where gifted fighters. He’d give them that. Gavin held another arrow back and his face was the most serious Ryan thought he’d ever seen. He couldn’t help but grin at that thought. “Here to avenge your king, boys? Planning on dying along with him?”

“Silence.” Jack spoke first as he took a step towards Ryan, his hold on the handle of the mighty axe tightening to a knuckle white grip. “The only one who shall die here tonight is you, Ryan!”

“Are you certain of this?” Ryan turned towards where Geoff lay bleeding and the three seemed to finally realize that their king wasn’t simply recovering from a blow if the way Gavin’s bow lowered and Jack gasped was any indication. The reaction only made Ryan’s smirk grow. “I meant it when I said you were fighting a losing battle. You all must know you are out matched and out numbered.” Behind him, the army of corpses were stirring back to life and Ray shot a weary glance back before his eyes shifted back to Geoff and up to Ryan. It was clear he was planning an escape and that only made Ryan all the more amused. Should he let them go? See how they planned on retaliating later?

“Ryan, have you gone off your bloody rocker?!” Gavin’s voice, laced with panic and fury, brought Ryan out of his musings. He tried to keep his gaze away from Geoff’s body and stop his hands from shaking to keep his aim trained on the blond.

“Why not at all. In fact, this is the most sane I have felt in a long, long time.”

“Sane?” Ray repeated with a horrified expression before his gaze narrowed. “This is you sane? You're not sane, Ryan! You're mad!”

“Mad, hm?” Ryan’s smile curled up sadistically again and the three men stared at him in fright. “I rather like that. The Mad King.” He said the title aloud and his eyes seemed to darken in delight as the words rolled off his tongue. He didn’t get to enjoy it for too long before he was having to bring an arm up to dodge the sharp thorn whip Ray had summoned and just as he lowered his guard, the three men and fallen king were gone in a flurry of rose petals. Ryan just smirked to himself as he stepped over to pick up Geoff’s fallen blade. He looked the bloodied weapon over once, watching as the remaining crimson liquid rolled down towards his hand when he held it up. He grinned wickedly before strapping it to his belt and going up the stairs of the castle’s main tower and looking over the hazed courtyard which was now stained with more signs of war and lifeless bodies than before. The fires from the kingdom had caught to more buildings and painted the sky a murky black just as the sun began to rise and everything was cast in a dark red-gold. Ryan’s grin only grew and the crown on his head fit nicely; like it belonged.

It was good to be king.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was starting to peak out and it washed the land in shades of golds and orange but as a flurry of petals disturbed the grass and four men appeared the beautiful scene went ignored. Ray was at Geoff’s side in a matter of moments as he quickly felt for a pulse before tearing off the man’s shirt and shattered chest plate. The king was unconscious which wasn’t surprising given how much he’d bled out. Ray ignored the horrified gasps of the two older men behind him as he held a hand out over the wound, familiar red engulfing it as he moved in circles right above the king’s chest. He didn’t speak as he worked so for a while there was nothing but silence until Gavin broke it with a worried question.

“Is he going to make it?”

Again Ray stayed silent. Whether it was because he was unsure himself or because he was focusing on his spell, they couldn’t know. Jack stood where he was with senses on high alert in case Ryan decided he didn’t want to let them just walk away. His eyes were focused on watching Ray work knowing if anybody was going to be able to help the king, it would be the mage. But there were some things not even Ray’s spells could fix. Bringing back the dead being an example. That was apparently only a skill Ryan possessed.

The thought made Jack’s stomach churn and he gripped the axe in his hands tighter in anger. Ryan. He’d trusted him. They all had. Thought he was a friend and a trusted collogue. The betrayal Jack imagined they all felt was like a knife twisting in his gut and he was torn between wanting to charge back and personally make Ryan pay for this or staying by his kings side. Common sense encouraged him to pick the latter as he was fully aware he didn’t stand a chance against Ryan’s magic alone.

After what seemed like an eternity Ray finally stood and turned to face the other men. “I managed to stop the bleeding, but without access to my ingredients I can’t properly heal him.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Gavin asked again. His accent always got harder to understand when he got worked up.

Ray seemed to consider the question as he glanced back at Geoff before he nodded. “Yes, he’ll pull through. But we need to get somewhere that is not out in the open. Ryan can easily locate us.”

“I have a cabin." Jack spoke up, drawing the attention of both lads. "It is a bit of a walk, but it is well secluded. I don’t think Ryan is aware of its whereabouts.”

Ray nodded again at Jack’s suggestion. “That would be good. I can set up a few charms to make him unable to track us easily. Our main concern right now, however, is to get Geoff somewhere safe.” The other two men nodded and Jack stepped over to kneel down beside the fallen king. With help from Gavin and Ray, he had Geoff on his back and the three men headed deeper into the woods with Jack’s cabin set as their destination.

He hadn’t been lying when he said it was a ways off. They traveled in silence, even the usually talkative Gavin stunned speechless in light at what had happened. The sun had almost set by the time they reached the cozy looking home hidden behind a few large oak trees. It was made from sturdy pine and cypress and as with anything Jack made, crafted beautifully. Ray stepped forward to open the door and the trio made their way in.

The inside was adored with smooth planks for the floor and red curtains pulled aside to let the fading sunlight in. The back wall directly facing the door was a small area used for cooking and in between them stood a table with four hand crafted chairs. To the right was a bookshelf housing many books and attached to the opposite side of the wall with the door was a flight of stairs leading up to the loft where two beds were located. Under the loft was a large fire place with two plush chairs situated in front of it.

The men made their way inside and Jack headed up to rest the king down in a bed while Ray set to charming the door and windows to be sure Ryan wouldn’t be able to find them easily. They met back up and Jack sunk into one of the chairs at the table while Ray roamed his bookshelves and Gavin paced back and forth. The quiet that hung in the air was stiff with unspoken worry. Jack watched the archer pace a few more times before he sighed and shook his head then pushed a few stray stands of hair back when they fell to hang in his face. “Gavin, you are going to wear away the flooring. Sit down.”

The sandy haired boy gave him a strange look before turning his attention to Ray who had picked a book and was skimming the pages of it. His face twisted and he threw his arms out clearly exasperated. “How are the both of you so calm?! There is a mad man on Geoff’s throne who almost killed him! The kingdom is completely destroyed, Ryan is all bloody powerful, we are defenseless here, and Michael is-!”

He stopped himself there and suddenly all three men seemed to realize at once that Michael hadn’t been there. Michael had been sent away by Ryan days before in search of some ancient artifact the magician had said was curtail and important and oh-so valuable. He had no idea what had happened. He was going to march back up to the castle and see the bodies littered in the court yard and have Ryan’s blood thirsty grin there to greet him. Gavin paled considerably and his hand gripped the bow he still hadn’t put down tight enough to turn his knuckles white. Jack frowned at the sight and stood to go over and rest a hand on his shoulder. “He is a smart man, Gav. He is not going to get himself killed so easily by Ryan's hand.” He tried to reassure the unspoken thoughts running through Gavin’s mind.

“Besides we don't even know where Ryan sent him. We would have no way of getting to him before he returns to the kingdom.” Ray came over to the table and set down the few books he’d pulled from the shelf as he spoke in a tone like they were simply talking about the weather. “Our best bet is to keep our guard up and focus on getting Geoff back on his feet. Michael can handle himself. It is us I'm more worried about.” Gavin bit his lower lip and for a moment Jack was sure he was going to protest. Michael and Gavin were close and Jack understood his worry, but Ray was right. Gavin seemed to realize this because he simply ran a hand through his hair and muttered something about checking on Geoff before making his way upstairs.

The cabin fell back into tense silence with the only sound being the pages Ray turned and the crickets starting to chirp as night began to fall. It was far from comfortable and feeling anxious, Jack stood to start a fire to give Ray some light to read by. He wasn’t sure what exactly the mage had found in the old bookcase. He wasn’t aware what all the contents of the books were. They were books the royal courts former sorcerer had before he passed away and Ryan had come along to take his place. The mad king had dubbed them useless and said the magic in them was out dated and pointless. But Geoff had requested Jack hold on to them. Just in case. While Jack himself couldn’t understand a word they said, he was thankful for the king’s orders if they were going to help Ray in even the slightest of ways.

When the fire caught it illuminated the small cabin fairly well and Jack grabbed two candles from a shelf above the stove. He lit one and set it down next to Ray who thanked him as Jack took the second one up to the loft. Geoff was still unconscious and Gavin was sitting cross legged on the bed beside his. He was looking at the fallen king, face etched with worry and concern. Jack sighed and set the candle down on the small table between the two beds before placing his hand on Gavin’s shoulder. “Brooding is not going to change anything.”

“What else is there for me to do?”

Gavin’s tone was a bit harsh but Jack didn’t take it personally. They were all on edge. He just gave the young man a small reassuring smile and nodded towards the pillows. “You should sleep. Ray is going to need to gather ingredients in the morning and it would be nice if you went with him. Maybe see if you can find anything to eat while you are both out. There is next to nothing here since I have not been here in so long.”

Gavin seemed to consider Jack’s words before his gaze fell back to Geoff. Again Jack responded to his unspoken thoughts. He’d always been fairly good at reading the former thief. Even if the kid did drive him up the wall most days. “I will stay up with Geoff. Ray said he is stable for now so get some sleep, Gavin. We are all going to need our strength.” For a moment the young archer opened his mouth to more than likely protest but he pressed his lips instead and nodded his head in agreement. “Ryan will not get away with this. But we need time to regroup and think out a plan. It is all we can do right now.” Gavin nodded again and Jack let the subject go as he stood to finally take off the quiver strapped to his back.

Jack gave him his space and headed back downstairs to encourage Ray to go get some rest as well. It would be best if they slept in shifts just in case Ryan decided to follow them. The dark haired boy was more easily convinced than Gavin and he thanked Jack for opting to take first watch before heading up to the loft to sleep on the floor with a spare quilt and pillow. Jack went to stir the fire once more before sitting back in one of the chairs situated in front of the flames.

The rest of the night was spent in silence. Jack stayed up with ears strained at each and every noise, getting up once or twice to go check on the three men out cold in the loft. Just before the sun started to rise, Ray came to relieve him and after a few hours when Gavin had woken up, the pair went out in search of materials Ray would need and anything they could use as food.

When Jack woke up it was around noon and Ray had completely taken over the lower level of the cabin. There were books, scrolls, and papers scattered across the table, counter, and floor. Jack wasn’t even aware the shelves had housed this much but the most alarming thing was the corner of the book shelf that now had what appeared to be a rose bush growing out of it. He probably should have set some ground rules before going to bed. The mage seemed hard at work, not even looking up from the scroll he was currently hunched over as Jack walked down.

The front door opened and Gavin marched in with his arms full of fire wood. When he noticed Jack he gave the man a grin and it was nice to see he was starting to fall back to his usual self. While the solemn looks and mood had been understandable, Gavin’s usual optimism and jokes would be a welcome relief. “Morning, Jack!” He set the wood down by the fireplace which Jack noticed was also not spared in Ray’s apparent attainment of his cabin. On the plus side, there were a three rabbits roasting over the open flames along with a bowl of something or another he probably wouldn’t understand even if Ray explained so as long as he got one of the rabbits, Jack was willing to overlook the mage’s take over.

“I take it you both had a successful hunt?” Gavin nodded as he went over to pluck one of the rabbits from the flames. He inspected it before deciding it was done enough and handed it to Jack.

“Ray said he found all that he he needs to heal Geoff’s wounds.” Well that certainly explained Gavin’s suddenly chipper mood. Jack grinned wide and turned towards where Ray was still hard at work looking over a scroll.

“Is that supposed to explain why my home is suddenly a rose sanctuary?”

“You are welcome for that by the way.” Ray spoke as he turned towards the table and started mixing something in one of the many bowls scattered across the surface. “Roses make everything better and your cabin was lacking in color.” Jack rolled his eyes fondly but stepped over to the table to peer down into whatever the mage had concocted. He figured he wouldn’t be able to even hazard a guess to what it was, but it was always interesting to watch the younger man work. The liquid in the bowl was some sort of green paste like substance that seemed to grow faintly red as Ray added more to it.

After mixing everything together, Ray inspected it one last time before heading up the stairs to the loft. Jack and Gavin quickly followed him up and stood on the other side of the bed as Ray sat on the edge. He stuck two fingers into the mix and went to smear it across their king’s wound before he paused, eyes darting up to the other two men behind his glasses. “Holding your breath is not going to make it automatically work, you know.”

Jack gave a nervous chuckle as Gavin let out a puff of air he didn’t seem to know he’d been holding. “I know. Just praying this will work.” Jack admitted and Gavin nodded as Ray gave them a small grin.

“Well, only one way to find out. YOLO, right?” Before the other two could comment on Ray’s over used (and made up) motto, the mage had the glowing red paste spread over Geoff’s chest and the man screamed.

 

* * *

 

_The passing of the kingdoms sorcerer was sudden and unexpected. He had been fine the day before and then suddenly he was bed ridden and unable to even form a coherent sentence. The king mourned his passing and worried for what this meant for the fate of his kingdom without the man’s powerful magic at his side._

_His unease didn’t last long as not even a week later, a vagabond had wondered through and rumor of his potions and spells had been told rapidly throughout. It wasn’t long before it had spread as far as to the castle and the king had ordered the man be brought before him so he could see his magic first hand. The man who walked through the court that day seemed to have a strong presence what with his piercing blue eyes and deep, well articulated words. He bowed with a flourish when he met the king, smile kind and trusting as he thanked Geoff for the invitation and asked what the king could possibly want with a wonderer such as himself._

_His name was Ryan Haywood. He was all that was left from a clan of potion masters and had been wondering the Earth ever since his home was destroyed. He'd been taught a variety of different kinds of magic in his travels and was quite the master of them all. He seemed to be gifted in magic even the old sorcerer was not and Geoff quickly offered him a home at his side despite Jack’s caution on making such a rash decision. There was still much about this man they didn’t know but the king had waved away is worry and while it took a bit longer, Jack also warmed up to the wonderer as well._

_He seemed to be a kind man despite the mentioned presence that seemed to always hang around him. He had a way with animals, somehow always attracting and befriending them. There was one cow in general that each time it would break free from the pasture would always be found outside Ryan’s potion room. (Ryan had affectionately named it Edgar.) He quickly fell into the King’s favor and with no time at all, was the third member of Geoff’s trusted council._

_Jack and Ryan, while coming from very different back grounds, were very good friends. They were both the level headed voices of reason when the King was too angry to speak or when the three younger members would bicker amongst one another. While Geoff was Jack’s oldest and dearest friend, he felt close to Ryan. He’d often spend his downtime lounging in Ryan’s potion room, sharpening his weapons or simply snoozing while Ryan worked. It was easy to let his guard down around the blond. They’d laugh or joke with one another though there was the occasional quarrel as Ryan’s innocently-dark sense of humor sometimes was used to see how far he could push the red headed architect. But in the end they had a close friendship._

_“So everything in here is safe, correct? Nothing deadly simply lying around?” Jack was looking through the different vials, jars, and cups on a shelf in Ryan’s room that were filled with different colors and floating objects. Jack was pretty sure there was a hand in one of them. He grabbed a peculiar black rock that had a faint purple-like glow if you held it at a certain angle._

_Ryan looked up from what he was currently working on and grinned slightly as Jack inspected the stone. “Why do you ask? Do you think me so untrustworthy that I would keep something that could potentially destroy the kingdom or enslave an army or creepers sitting on the shelves of my workshop?” Jack stared at him long and hard. That was an oddly specific example and Ryan watched him with an even gaze for a moment before the blond laughed and looked back at what he had been working on. “Yes, Jack. Everything in here is safe.” That seemed to relieve the man as he set the rock down and went to go and pet the cow who was sticking his head through the window silently asking for Ryan’s attention. “Those things are all hidden away elsewhere.”_

_Jack tensed up and looked at him again. There was a moment of silence as Ryan worked like he hadn’t said the most cryptic sounding thing Jack had heard in a long time. He narrowed his gaze a bit in suspicion before arching a brow. Ryan finally looked up at him and chuckled at Jack’s expression. Figuring the man was once again just being his usual creepy self, he sighed and shook his head. “Ryan. You are a disturbing person.” Ryan just laughed and the subject was dropped. They’d all gotten used to Ryan’s slightly off-putting way of wording things and borderline sinister sense of humor. It was what made him Ryan. He proved his loyalty to the king so they thought nothing of it. After all, nobody would be that open and honest about the darkness that lurked in their heart, right?_

 

* * *

 

Whatever Ray had put into the paste must have been strong because no sooner had it been spread across Geoff’s chest had the king jolted upright with a yell. He nearly knocked Ray over as he did so and the young mage stood quickly to avoid being hit. “Ryan! He-!” His gaze shifted to each man and then around the room before he seemed to take in there was no threat. “What, what happened?”

“You are in Jack’s cabin.” Ray supplied instead of answering in hopes to detour Geoff’s focus away for the time being. The wound wasn’t gone; not completely. And if Geoff started moving too much it would be likely to reopen and they would be back to where they were the day before. “You have to relax now before you reopen your chest.” Geoff just shook off the mages concern and made a move to stand up only to flinch and grab his chest. “Or just learn from the pain. Don’t listen to the man who patched you up. It’s fine.”

He settled back with an annoyed grunt and scrubbed a hand over his face as he looked up at the ceiling for all of ten seconds. “What happened?” The three men exchanged a wary look and Geoff seemed to pick up on their hesitance as he lifted his head up to shoot them all a glare. “One of you better start talking before I march back there and find out for myself.”

Jack took one for the ream and spoke to explain what had happened. Geoff’s face was an unreadable mask with the only emotion showing in his usually sleepy eyes being rage. By the time everything was explained, his face had shifted into a serious scowl and he carefully moved to stand up. He shook off the hands that tried to urge him back down as he stepped over to the window where the castles tallest tower was just barely able to shine through the clouds. “If it is a fight for the throne Ryan wants, then that is what he is going to get.” He turned back to face the three men who were all silently watching him. The rightful king gave them a small smirk and with it, he managed to restore their hope and raise their spirits. If he was still willing to fight then of course they were going to stand by him. “Let’s press the attack, gents.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a bit longer than I had originally hoped... I know what I want to happen in this story, but the transition to then wasn't there so this chapter was quite the bitch to force out. I do hope it flows well because no matter how many times I reread this thing, I can't say I like the way it goes but what can you do.


	3. Chapter 3

Days went by as the men readied themselves to take Ryan on. Jack had made Geoff a new sword while the king rested to get his strength back up. Gavin fashioned more arrows for himself in between going out for hunts and Ray spent his time pouring over the books and scrolls in hopes of finding anything new they could use against the mad king. The air in the cabin was thick with tension but none of them were going to comment on it. After all, what was there to say? Nothing was going to magically make everything better unless one of Ray’s books had a miracle waiting in the pages. Now and then Gavin would make a quip to try and lighten the mood and it would help ease the air for a moment, make it into a lighter atmosphere, but it never lasted as the grim realization as to why they were in this situation would always seep back in and remind them of reality.

It was honestly suffocating and the former thief couldn’t stand to be inside for long. He found it hard to breathe and wished desperately that they at least had Michael around. It would not only raise their chances of being able to take Ryan down, but he’d have someone to talk to. Michael would let Gavin bait him into a playful fight or call the other men out on their seriousness. The warrior had a knack for making bad situations seem bearable. Even if it was just by getting so annoyed with it that his yelling became amusing.

But he wasn’t so Gavin’s only escape was to sit on the roof with the reasoning of keeping watch as he sharpened arrow heads. He tried not to let his mind wonder too much but it was hard not to. He’d never been all that great at focusing on one thing for long and it was just a matter of time before his thoughts drifted back to the curly haired warrior. Michael and he met when Gavin had been attempting to steal Geoff’s crown years ago. Some anonymous buyer was willing to pay him top dollar for the headwear so Gavin set out to retrieve it.

It had been a pretty straight forward plan; get in, grab the crown, get out. Not much room for error but as his old friend Dan liked to say, if there was a way for a plan to be messed up, Gavin would find it. Getting into the castle and grabbing the crown undetected wasn’t exactly easy, but with well-practiced skill, Gavin managed it. It was the third step that threw him off as while he was making his descent down the castle wall and towards freedom, the rope he was tied to snapped and sent him plummeting to the ground below where if his screaming hadn’t alerted someone to his presence the thatched roof he fell through would.

Gavin winced when the shock of the impact wore away. He looked up to see a pair of brown eyes gazing down at him and he blinked a few times as if trying to make sure the person was actually there. When he confirmed that yes, he had just been caught, he registered that they belonged to a man who was frowning at him with arms folded over his chest. Gavin gave the man a cheeky grin, holding up the crown for him to see. _“Don’t s’pose you would be willing to go splitsys on the bounty for this thing in return for helping me escape?”_ The man - who Gavin found out later was Michael and happened to be his royal highness’ head knight - had just scowled, jerked Gavin up by the back of his hood, and hauled him down to the cells with a ‘god damn dumbass criminal’ thrown over his shoulder.

Gavin couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh at the memory. The following night he’d snuck out and nicked a bow and quiver intending to make his escape in the cover of nightfall but ended up waging an all-out war with Michael in the middle of the court yard until their banter had grown loud enough to wake the entire castle. He could have gotten away. Least that’s what he claimed. But he’d found the curly haired knight so much fun to urge on and piss off, he’d ended up staying until he was once again caught and Geoff cut him the deal to work for him and drop the charges.

Replaying the ordeal through his head lifted his mood a bit. He tilted his head back to look up at the clouds that were painting the sky different shades of red and purple as the sun began to set and give way to night. A slight breeze brushed his hair in his face and he closed his eyes to enjoy the feel until someone calling his name brought him back and he glanced down to see Jack standing there, looking up at him. “You want to come inside for a bit?”

Gavin gave the red head a small grin as he cocked his head to the side. “Are you actually asking if I want to or was that more of a demand?”

Jack folded his arms over his chest and Gavin just laughed as he gathered up the arrows he’d made and with one graceful leap, jumped down to land in front of Jack. The man had taken a step back in fear of Gavin actually landing on top of him which only made the archer laugh again. “I swear the only time you have any sort of gracefulness is when you are jumping off places like some sort of animal.” Jack stepped past him to headed inside as Gavin followed suit.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It is considering you tripped over your own bootstraps this morning.” Gavin jutted out his lower lip in a pout and had been about to retort but once they were inside the cabin, he was suddenly reminded of the sobering situation.

Geoff was seated at the table and Ray was at his side, the mage giving Gavin a grin and a small wave which Gavin was thankful for. Was nice to have someone else who remembered how to smile. Once the door was shut and Jack and Gavin were seated at the table, Geoff opened a scroll that had a rough draft of the castle grounds etched on it. The tattooed man pointed to where the throne was situated with a dark scowl on his face. “Tomorrow we are taking this back.” His words were sharp, direct, and deadly as the glare in his eyes. The three men didn’t dare speak another word as Geoff explained what their plan of attack was to be.

As the sun rose and the stars blinked out of sight, the men set the rightful king’s plan into action. Ray got them as close to the gates as he could without setting off anything Ryan might have waiting to alert him to intruders. Geoff’s plan was straight forward and that in of itself made Gavin uneasy. Nothing simple ever worked out in Gavin’s favor and as they crept through the village leading up to the gates undetected, worry twisted in his gut like a lead weight. He shifted the bow that was setting on his shoulders into his hands in an attempt to ease his mind but it didn’t do much. As cliché as the saying was, everything was too quiet and calm for his liking. It wasn’t right. Ryan should have guards situated in every nook and corner, have traps set or at the very least have a wolf keeping guard. But there was nothing. Nobody around. Not a soul in sight. Or lifeless zombie guard because apparently Ryan had learned how to do that. That fact in of itself was unnerving. Shouldn’t the man have one of his corpse goons standing guard somewhere? It was almost like he wanted them to be able to get up to the castle without interruption.

As soon as that thought waved through his mind, Gavin froze and with a horrified expression, he turned his attention to the other three men who were also stopped as well. He was about to ask if maybe they had come to the same conclusion going by the looks on their faces but when he heard footsteps coming down the cobblestone steps in front of them, he knew it was too late to voice his warning. Ryan was descending the stairs with his arms folded behind his back and cheshire cat-like grin across his face. “Good evening gentlemen. Back so soon?”

Geoff didn’t grace him with a response as his hand came to rest on the hilt of the sword strapped to his side. “I am going to give you one chance to explain yourself and back down before-“

“Before _what_ , your highness?” Ryan’s reply was sharp and dark. It made him look even more mad combined with the way the grin across his face seemed to grow at Geoff’s threat. “What can you possibly do now that you couldn not have done then, hm? As far as I can tell you are even more under prepared than you were days ago. At least then you had soldiers by your side. Is there any real plan here or did you decide to just charge in with the hopes I would ‘come to my senses’ and hand you back a throne you do not deserve?”

Geoff just grit his teeth, gaze narrowing on the blond. His limits were being pressed and he’d never been good at hiding that fact. His hand gripped the handle of his sword tighter and Ryan tilted his head to the side with amusement written clearly across his face. “Is sheer violence your plan of attack? Because I can assure you, it will not have a different outcome than last time.” He gestured around the court yard where the bodies of the fallen knights stilled laid battered and rotting and just waiting for Ryan to cast his spell again. 

“Are you so much of a coward you can not face me alone?!” Geoff’s words were screamed across the court yard and the three men at his side looked at him with wide eyed concern. He was barely strong enough to hold the blade at his side let alone wield it! Ryan would have him cut down in a matter of seconds! Jack moved towards him with a hand out to try and tell the king this but Geoff just shook him off and stepped towards Ryan. “Why not fight me one on one? We can see then who is fit to wear the crown!” 

Ryan didn’t speak for a long tense moment and Gavin had the horrible thought that he was actually going to take Geoff up on the offer. His hands twitched in anticipation to reach back and grab an arrow if that were the case. King or not, he wasn’t going to let Geoff take on Ryan alone. The blond mad man shrugged his shoulders and looked towards the left of the court yard. “I have a better idea. If it is a fight you want so badly, I know the perfect person to give it to you.” 

Geoff looked as if he’d been about to protest, to demand Ryan take him on himself, but something moving off in the direction Ryan was looking grabbed his attention. The men braced themselves for an attack assuming it was going to be something along the lines of the undead army that had ambushed them last time. Gavin had grabbed an arrow and readied a shot at the moving mass, Jack braced the axe in both hands as Geoff started to draw his sword-

-only to pause and let his hand fall away with a shocked look on his face. 

“Michael?” 

Gavin didn’t know who said the name. Maybe it was Gavin himself? His bow lowered as he stared wide eyed at the man in front of them. He’d recognize those auburn colored curls anywhere. Beside him there were various gasps and muttered swears but Gavin wasn’t paying them any attention. The man’s head was lowered slightly as he stepped closer to the mad king before he stopped and stood in front as if to protect him. The walk seemed like an eternity to Gavin. He knew who it was. Logically there was only one person it could be. Those curls, the skinned bear hide hanging over his shoulders, the tell-tell diamond blade clutched in his hand; there was no denying who this man was. But Gavin refused to believe it until the blade in this hand rose and pointed at them, his head lifting enough to give the four a smirk Gavin had only ever seen Michael give people he was about to kill. 

This was Michael. He was going to have to fight Michael. 

Geoff swore again and made a move to step forward only to have Jack hold a hand in front of him to keep him back. The man was still too weak to move much less fight the warrior who had single handedly taken down armies of Endermen. “Dammit, Michael! What the hell are you doing?!” The warrior stood where he was, eyes glazed over and sadistic look still gracing his lips. 

"Yell all you want. He is not going to be swayed.” Ryan spoke up and the amusement was clear in his voice. He walked out from behind Michael and slung an arm over his shoulders. “Your knight works for me now, your highness.” The title was spat out like it tasted bitter in Ryan’s mouth. The smile never left his lips though and he let his gaze slide off Michael and over to the four men standing in front of him. “And to be fair, I think he prefers it that way. No rules, no consequences, he can be as deadly and ruthless as he wishes and does not have to be bothered with your silly morals or consequences. I am not sure why he never turned and betrayed you before.” 

“What did you do to him!?” Gavin hadn’t even realized he’d been the one to yell the question until Ryan’s cold gaze was on him. The ice blue glare and deadly smile were enough to send shivers down his spine but he didn’t let it show. He wanted answers. Michael was his best mate and the most loyal knight to ever serve Geoff! “He’d never turn his back on his king!” 

Ryan seemed to mull that over before he shrugged slightly and looked back to Michael who was standing obediently at his side. “Well, you are half right. It took a little more… ‘convincing’ than I would like to admit.” 

Gavin was quiet for a moment as he tried to figure out what he meant. He was about to demand Ryan clarify before he heard Ray whisper something, a horrified expression on his face. “He brainwashed him.” 

“What?!” Gavin’s voice cracked as he looked at the mage. “He can’t do that! That’s not something magic can do!” 

“No, it’s not.” Ray agreed still looking horrified, his eyes never leaving Ryan whose smirk only grew. 

“Pure magic, anyway.” Gavin snapped his head back at the mad man. “Ender magic, however, has endless possibilities.” He turned back to Michael and gripped either side of the warriors face, making him turn his head up and meet Ryan’s gaze. “You just have to know which strings to pull and you can have the most powerful puppet in the land.” 

“No!” Gavin shouted again, raising his bow and aiming it at Ryan. “Even with Ender magic Michael wouldn’t turn his back on Geoff! On us!” 

At the raised weapon Michael quickly stepped in front of Ryan, sword at the ready and glare set on Gavin. There was a moment where the archer almost lowered his bow again. He didn’t think he’d be able to fire at the man. Ryan just grinned still clearly amused as he folded his arms behind his back and Michael stood guard in front of him. “Is that so? Because it seems to me he’s more than ready to die for his true king and not the awful one cowering behind you.” 

Jack wasn’t able to stop Geoff this time as the man had rushed past him, drawing his blade as he sprinted towards Ryan. Michael was quicker though and just as Geoff’s sword was unsheathed, Michael’s own slammed against it and sent it flying out of Geoff’s hand. In the stumble that followed, the knight side stepped him and swiveled on his heel, slamming the butt of his blade into Geoff’s side and knocking him to the ground. Behind him Ryan laughed. “My how the mighty have fallen! You can not amount for much without your ‘Mighty Mogar’ doing all your fighting, can you.” 

Jack and Ray rushed forward next, Jack’s axe up and ready to swing while Ray started to summon a spell. Michael brought the blade up again just in time for Jack’s axe to connect. The weapons hit hard, the force being enough to send Michael’s curls bouncing in his face but the smirk never left his face and he recovered quicker than Jack, pulling back the blade and stepping back fast enough to avoid the long thorn like whip that Ray had summoned. His gaze turned to Ray and he pivoted on his foot, lunging for the dark haired male. He was stopped by another swing of Jack’s axe but Michael used the larger man’s momentum to his own advantage and stepped up onto the butt of the weapon as it connected with the ground. He then slammed the handle of his blade down against the back of Jack’s skull and pushed off his back to lunge at Ray. The Mage was quick to back track, starting up another spell but Michael’s swing was quicker and the tip of his blade was about to make contact with Ray until an arrow whizzed between them both, hitting Michael’s sword to the side and making the man lose his balance. 

Michael jerked his gaze to where Gavin stood already aiming another arrow at him. “I don’t want to hurt you, Michael.” The auburn haired man just grinned and Gavin felt goose bumps run down his arms. He forced the feeling away, narrowing his eyes and pulling back on the string. “Michael, please. Don’t make me do this.” Michael didn’t seem to hear him or care because soon he was racing towards Gavin, blade at the ready. He waited a moment longer before releasing the arrow, getting no satisfaction as it ripped an agonized cry out of Michael when it hit him in the shoulder. He quickly grabbed another and aimed it as Michael went to lunge and again he let go, hitting Michael’s other shoulder dead on. “Ray, get us out of here.” His voice was emotionless as he pulled another arrow on him, keeping his aim trained in between the man’s eyes. He kept his hold up, waiting as long as he could and not letting the string go. 

The last thing he saw was Michael’s eyes; saw the glazed over look and the slightly blooded side of his head were his curls were matted down. Saw the strange choker around his best friends neck before the all too familiar sword was up and Michael was shouting as he was about to swing before rose petals flew up between them and Jack’s cabin came into view. He kept the arrow pointed a moment longer as if expecting the knight to attack again. 

When his surroundings hit all his senses and Michael wasn’t anywhere to be seen, Gavin let his bow and arrow clatter to the ground. Ray was already tending to Jack and Geoff on the other side of the room and Gavin slowly sank to his knees, eyes trained on nothing but the faint memory of his best friend’s attempt on his life. 


	4. Chapter 4

Michael sighed and ran a hand over his face and through his hair to push the unruly curls back. The journey to get Ryan’s artifacts had taken longer than he first thought and he had been starting to wish he’d brought more than his horse along with him. Not that Hidalgo wasn’t great company, but the horse wasn’t exactly talkative and it would have been nice to have someone to speak with who could actually respond. He could see the tall gray tower breaking through the clouds and a smile spread across his face. The familiar sense of ‘home’ started to wash over the warrior and he urged the gray horse to gallop faster.

Years ago he might have found it strange to find himself missing a place so much let alone somewhere he wasn’t even from. But the castle grounds and the people there had become the closest thing to a family Michael had ever really had and he wasn’t too proud to admit that he missed it when he was gone for long periods of time. Next time he’d have to drag Gavin and maybe Ray along with him. Least then the trip would go by faster. Gavin somehow always managed to make time fly by and Ray’s quick wit was always a source of entertainment. Next time Ryan had some task Michael’d force the other lads to go along with him. Or at least a few knights.

His thoughts were interrupted abruptly as an all too familiar scent hit him. At first it was just smoke. Nothing all that unusual but it was paired with another scent that made Michael’s stomach drop. Death was in the air. Maybe it was dramatic, but Michael knew what death smelled like and it hung thick in the air growing more intense as he urged his horse faster. His horrid thoughts were confirmed as he rode through town and saw the destruction painted across the streets and houses. Buildings were half burnt down and splattered with blood. The gray stone streets were covered in a thick layer of crimson-stained ash as were most every other surface in sight. It was something out of a horror story.

Just what had happened while he’d been away?!

When the castle gates were in sight, he urged the horse forward despite the animal being rather hesitant. There was unspoken worry in his mind that something had happen to the king and his friends. There was no way so much destruction could fall upon the town under Geoff’s watch. The king may appear absent minded at times, but he cherished his land and the people in it.

As soon as he entered the courtyard Michael jumped off Hidalgo before the horse had even came to a complete stop. It nickered, obviously just as unnerved with the atmosphere as Michael was but he kept his focus on the doors. A hand moved to his back where his sword was sheathed and he grabbed the blade as he walked silently along the blood covered grounds.

His eyes darted from side to side as he swept the area for any sign of life. Some of the people laying slaughtered on the ground he recognized and Michael had to force himself not to let his gaze linger on them. He needed explanations and a life check. He’d mourn the dead later. After a few more silence fear-induced moments, he finally spotted somebody moving along the piles of bodies. He made a bee line for them. Michael didn’t care who they were; they were alive and could give him some answers on just what the fuck had happened in his absence. “Hey!” Michael called out and the figure paused before turning to look at him. He recognized the man as Ryan’s assistant Kerry. The blond male gave Michael a grin which made the warrior pause in his stride. What the hell was he grinning about? Did he not see the bodies littering the yard? “Kerry, what happened while I was away?” He barked the question out and when all he was met with was laughter, he froze and subconsciously gripped the handle of his blade tighter. “What are you laughing at?”

“It is nice to see you, Michael. The king has been waiting for you to return.”

King? That meant Geoff was still alive somewhere, right? Relief started to wash over him but something about the look in Kerry’s eyes didn’t let it last long. “Where is the king, Kerry?” His tone was cautious and careful. The same tone of voice he used when testing the waters before a fight.

If Kerry was bothered by the fact that Michael’s voice changed and his hold on the weapon tightened he didn’t show it. Just kept smiling at him and continuing to ignore Michael’s questions. “He said I should take you to him as soon as you returned.” He went on and Michael frowned. Something wasn’t right about any of this. Kerry was acting more chipper than usual and it was creeping Michael out. He didn’t give Kerry a verbal response, just waited for the man to turn and head off down a hallway. Michael followed silently after him, keeping his hold on his blade and readying himself for something to charge or attack. The usually brightly lit and bustling hallways were empty and barren. Blood was splattered on the walls with the occasional body slumped against it. Occasionally they’d pass a stain where blood had pooled but the body was missing and chills ran down Michael’s arms at the sight. He felt like a lamb being led to slaughter.

Kerry was silent as they walked, not even flinching as they passed the gory scenes around them. If anything he seemed pleased and Michael was about to comment on it before they got to the throne room. Kerry finally turned to face Michael and bowed to him, holding his arms out to signal for Michael to step inside. Michael eyed the potion masters assistant a second longer before he pushed the doors open and stepped into the throne room. “Geoff?” He hated how unsure his voice sounded. The room was dimly lit and void of any other signs of life and that in of itself was alarming. Not that this entire situation wasn’t, but the sinking suspicion that Kerry was up to something was becoming more and more of a reality. He pushed the thoughts away for the moment and stepped further into the grand room. “Your highness?” Maybe the royal title would get a response. If not from Geoff than maybe from someone else. He’d always gotten dirty looks from the castle staff when he called the king by his first name over the ‘proper’ way to address royalty. But again, he was met with no response. Michael took a few more careful steps into the room

He opened his mouth to call out again, for Jack or Ray or anyone at this point, when there was a sharp blow to the side of his head and he fell to the ground. His blade clattered to the floor just out of his reach and Michael forced his suddenly heavy lids open as he heard something metal hit the ground. It looked like pole or rod of some sort but when he heard footsteps, he tried to move his gaze up to see who exactly had struck him. A pair of nice dress shoes stepped into his view, white socks running up from under them before being hidden by a tattered royal red fabric. His vision started blurring around the edges as he tried to see who it was, tried to move away, but just as he passed out, the only other feature he could see were a pair of piercing blue eyes.

 

* * *

 

A low melody forced Michael’s mind awake. It was soft and rhythmic, not quite singing but definitely coming from another human. Humming maybe? It had to be humming. But who the hell was humming? He thought maybe it was Gavin. The idiot was always making noise somehow and humming seemed to be a hobby of his whenever he wasn't speaking. But why was he humming now? And why was Michael’s head throbbing? Maybe he’d passed out and Gavin dragged him back home. That would make sense. Wouldn’t be the first time the thief had been the one to find an over-worked Michael and bring him back to the castle to rest. He tried to force his eyes open but they felt too heavy still so he settled for trying to wake up his other senses. As his mind started to defog itself he could tell he was sitting upright. That imminently raised red flags because if he had passed out, then he should be laying down somewhere. Not bound sitting up.

Bound. His hands were bound. That realization was enough to force his eyes open though everything was still blurry and out of focus. He starred at the floor for a few moments as the stone finally stopped multiplying and moving in circles and he slowly lifted his throbbing head up to look around. He was someplace familiar; somewhere in the castle. He knew that much but his still fuzzy mind wasn’t able to pin-point where. The smell of the place was familiar. Mint, ash, and leather. There was only one place that smelled so distinctively and when his vision stopped swimming from the pain in his head, Ryan’s potion room finally came into complete focus. He must have made a noise of recognition because the humming stopped and someone stepped over. Michael knew it wasn’t going to be Gavin but he couldn’t help the dull hope that was quickly dashed when Ryan’s blue gaze was looking down at him and everything suddenly came rushing back.

The bodies, the blood, Kerry, the blow to his head, the town, and those eyes. Michael’s own gaze narrowed and he jerked his hands in a useless attempt to free them. “Ryan, what is going on?!”

The potion master grinned at him and tilted his head to the side a bit as if watching Michael struggle amused him. “Always so quick to anger, Michael. Really, I have not even said anything and you are already so angry.” The man tutted and shook his head as if disappointed but the grin on his face betrayed any sign that he was actually bothered. He crossed the room to pick up the scrolls Michael recognized as the one’s he’d been sent out to fetch days before. “Thank you, by the way. I knew if anyone was going to be able to fetch these for me it would be the ‘Mighty Mogar’.” The name was said mockingly and the corner of Ryan’s lips tugged up into a smirk.

It was enough to have the earlier feeling of dread creep up into Michael’s gut. “What. Is going. On.” He repeated his question as nothing about this situation was making any sense and unless he’d just stumbled into an alternate universe, there was no logical reason for the gruesome scene that had welcomed him home or the sickening grin worn by the blond man in front of him.

Michael watched as Ryan stepped over to one of the shelves housing an array of items Michael couldn’t even begin to describe. “How much do you know about thunderstorms, Michael?” Michael didn’t respond so Ryan barreled on as he riffled through his shelves. The knight was pretty sure he wasn’t expecting an answer anyway. “Storms happen when the air becomes unstable. Whether it is because one layer is too hot or cold, the clashing elements get so erratic that it violently overthrows the air so to say.”

Michael watched silently as Ryan seemed to find what he was looking for and moved over to the workbench across the room. He gripped a faintly glowing dark purple rock in his hand and looked it over as he spoke. “Certain conditions must be met for this to happen, however. And you can not have a proper storm without lightning.” His voice took on an oddly fond tone. Like a proud parent gushing of an achievement their child had made that day. “Lightning is one of the most common fears, you know. Well, thunder, but thunder is nothing more than lightning’s echo. It’s a peaceful shadow of the violent force of nature people should really fear.”

The last word was emphasized by Ryan crushing the rock in his hand as if it were nothing. He turned back to whatever he had on the workbench and carried on his conversation as if Michael wasn’t bound to a chair and half the kingdom wasn’t dead on their doorstep. “Anything lightning strikes has a likely chance of bursting into flames just from the brief few seconds it was struck.” He finally turned back to face Michael, whatever he’d made clutched in his hand and hidden away from Michael being able to tell what it was.

Michael’s gaze just narrowed from the object in his hand and back to Ryan’s face as he tugged again on the restraints binding him to the chair. “Not that I don’t love listening to your knowledge of topics nobody gives a fuck about, but you have conveniently managed to not tell me what happened!”

Ryan smiled and moved to lean down towards him as Michael scowled and leaned back out of reflex. “Thunderstorms are unpredictable, deadly, and violent, Michael. They can not be stopped and it was only a matter of time before one hit.” He was grinning again and the simple expression made Michael want to squirm away and put more distance in between them both. “But you are lucky because in the midst of this storm, you are going to be spared.”

Michael glared and had been about to call Ryan out on his bullshit analogies when something sharply gripped his curls where his head throbbed the most and jerked his head back so his neck was exposed. He let out a whine of pain but tried to muffle it by clamping down on his lip as his eyes darted towards what had grabbed him only to see Kerry smiling back. How long had he been there?! Michael tried to glare at him, bark out some harsh response and threaten the traitor but his grip tightened and the blow from earlier sent a wave of pain through Michael’s head so he grit his teeth and remained silent.

“You are a gifted warrior, Michael. A loyal subject and a deadly opponent. Would you not want to serve a king who valued that in you? Not stifled it?” He did his best to keep his eyes narrowed on the man despite the pain coursing through his head and as Ryan leaned towards him, hand out stretched with whatever he’d just crafted, Michael fought against Kerry’s hold. He knew was pointless but what else was there for him to do? He shouted and fought and jerked his head but the end result was Kerry gripping him tighter and Ryan snapping whatever he’d just made around Michael’s neck and then everything seemed to freeze.

Michael’s screams were suddenly silenced and an eerily calm feeling washed over him. He stilled and Kerry let go as Michael’s head slumped forward. His eyes were open but he wasn’t focusing on anything. Everything felt numb; like he’d been submerged in water. Someone was speaking. His mind was able to determine that much after a while but the words weren’t clear. Like they were talking in some language Michael didn’t understand. He felt someone lift his chin and as the voice got louder, he was able to start making out the words. ‘Serve’ ‘King’ and ‘Ryan’. They were repeated in his head over and over like a mantra.

**Serve King Ryan. Serve King Ryan. Serve King Ryan.**

That was the only clear thought in his head for a while. It seemed strange, almost like the words didn’t make sense in that order, but Michael clung to them. Tried to use it to piece together everything else. Where was he? How did he even end up here? Some things were starting to come back to him. A trip. He’d been on some sort of trip. A quest maybe? Yes, that was it. He’d been on a quest for Ryan. Of course he had been. Ryan was his king. He would and did do whatever Ryan asked of him. He had sworn to protect and serve Geoff Haywood. Ramsey. No, wait… Who was Geoff? He didn’t know a Geoff. Did he?

**_”Michael, huh?” A bemused man with sleepy blue eyes and a bushy mustache smiled at him. “You certainly do have quite the temper. But you fight like a motherfucker.”_ **

**_“Aren’t kings supposed to talk all royal?” Michael challenged, crossing his arms over his chest._ **

**_The man chuckled and met Michael’s look with a challenging one of his own. “Aren’t knights supposed to address their king’s with proper titles?”_ **

**_“But I’m not-“ The kind looking man just grinned as Michael seemed to connect the dots, eyes widening. “Seriously? You’re going to make me a knight?” He did a horrible job of hiding the excitement in his voice._ **

**_The man smiled and nodded his head. “Of course. Nobody else has the balls to take on a fleet of skeletons just for ‘shits and giggles’. I think you would be the best head knight to ever serve King-.”_ **

The memory – was it a memory? – sent a sharp sting of pain through Michael’s head and he cried out only for the mantra to be repeated louder. No, he didn’t know a Geoff. His king was named Ryan Haywood. He had sworn to protect and serve _Ryan_. He’d been his loyal knight for years. He fought, killed, and swore allegiance to Ryan.

**_”Michael!” The same man’s lively blue eyes were slightly glazed over as he slung an arm around Michael’s shoulders, sloshing the liquid in his cup around and causing some to spill out._ **

**_“How much did you even drink in such a short amount of time?”_ **

**_The man just laughed as he slumped heavily against Michael’s side. “Michael, you are my favorite knight, you know? You really are. You may be all,” He gestured with both hands causing the contents of his glass to spill more. “loud and yell-y sometimes, but you are a damn good knight. By far my favorite.” He nodded solemnly as if this was suddenly a very serious matter and while Michael rolled his eyes in a mock show of annoyance at the drunken display of affection, he couldn’t help the swell of pride that bubbled up from it._ **

A sharp pain tugged at his head again and Michael cried out, squeezing his eyes shut. The man was getting fuzzier and fuzzier and Michael was having a hard time recalling what he looked like now. The man had a voice that cracked occasionally and he had an infectious laugh; almost like a giggle. Michael tried to focus on that. Focus on how he sounded and the colorful patterns on his arms that peeked out past his sleeves. But the pain in his head was making it harder and harder to picture the man. Who even was he?

**_”God dammit!” There was laughter to Michael’s left and he tried his best not to turn and punch this thief. That wouldn’t reflect very well in his favor. Michael was a damn good shot, but this guy must be a hawk because they’d gone ten targets and he hadn’t missed a single one._ **

**_The man bellowed out some nonsense ending with 'nut', holding out the vowel sounds in each word and Michael rolled his eyes as he seemed to laugh at his own nonsense name. What did that even mean?_ **

**_Clapping could be heard and both men turned to bow as a figure walked over to them both. “That was both impressive and amusing. I have not seen anyone be able to out-shoot Michael let alone put up with him so well.” Michael shot the speaker a glare but the man simply grinned at him before turning his attention towards the sandy haired thief who had been sneaking in to steal the crown not even twenty-four hours prior. “How about we make a deal? You work with me for oh say, a year. Train some of my royal archers, help on quests, side with my knights and in return, I will drop all the charges pressed against you.” Michael frowned and took a step forward to object. Making deals with the person who just tried to rob you seemed stupid even for this man. But the man just held a hand up for Michael to be silent and while he was fuming in his head, he kept his mouth shut._ **

**_The thief seemed to consider his terms and he looked at Michael who glared at him in return. He gave him this cheeky little smug grin that made Michael’s decision not to punch him seem like a bad one before he looked back at the dark haired man. “Just work for you? Just for a year? And all I’d have to do is ‘knight-ly’ things?”_ **

**_“Yup.” The man popped the ‘P’ at the end of the word before he jerked his head towards Michael. “Oh, and you will be tasked with annoyingmy head knight. He seems to love it.” Michael shot him a death glare but it went ignored as the thief laughed and reached out to shake the mans out stretched hand._ **

**_“Deal.”_ **

The images kept getting interrupted by the mantra his mind kept repeating. It was causing what he thought were memories to become more and more blurry and faded. Like he was looking at them through a haze. The pain in his head was getting sharper but he fought against it because he wanted to know who the man was! He had a name. He had to have a name.

He pressed his mind to try and come up with another memory, any other sign that Michael did in fact know the man and he wasn’t just making up images in his head that felt real. He fought against his own mind and forced another image to the surface.

**_Rain. There was a lot of rain. Why did it have to rain? Michael hated the rain. He grumbled and pushed his now drenched curls out of his face as he rode towards the castle. The guards opened the gates and he jumped off his horse, handing the reins to a stable hand before making a beeline for inside. He shook the droplets of water from his hair before heading into the throne room to give his report. The doors to the grand room opened and he stepped along the all-to familiar red carpet leading to the grand golden throne._ **

**_There was a figure seated at the top, clad in a long flowing red cape and a glistening golden crown placed atop their head. Michael kneeled down in front, head bowed as the figure stood and walked down the steps to greet him. “Was your quest successful?”_ **

**_Michael nodded and reached to retrieve the small leather pouch tied to his belt housing a handful of endereyes. He offered it to the man and was rewarded with a hand on his shoulder. “Wonderful job, Michael.” Michael looked up at the praise and Ryan’s grin greeted him. “You always were my favorite knight. Job well done.”_ **

**_“Thank you, my liege.”_ **

 

* * *

 

Everything else seemed to click into place after that. Michael couldn’t even remember why he’d questioned his own mind to start with. Ryan was his king and he swore to protect the man even if it meant risking his own life. So when he was beckoned over to Ryan’s side as four men stood across the court yard with weapons in hand, it was second nature to unsheathe his blade and stand between them and his king. The four men seemed to know Michael’s name but it wasn’t all that shocking. His fighting and loyalty made his name known. He’d gotten many people over his life time who came to the castle simply to challenge him to a duel.

The four men looked at his king with what looked like shock and anger. They were emotions Michael didn’t really understand but he didn’t really care either. They could feel however they wanted. Wasn’t any of his business. They were talking about something. Talking about Michael maybe? Who cared. Michael certainly didn’t. He had one job and when one of them charged forward with his sights set on Ryan, Michael finally got to do it. Michael hit the blade away from the dark haired man just as it was drawn and the action made the man stumble giving Michael an opened to slam the handle of his own sword into the man’s temple. He fell to the floor in an unconscious heap just as two of the other men charged forwards.

One of the men had a hefty looking weapon and Michael braced himself for impact, letting it collide with his diamond blade. He recovered quicker and jumped back as a thorn like whip came flying in between the two. He turned his attention to the source to see a young man just maybe a head shorter than Michael glaring at him behind rectangle lenses as his lips moved quickly, no doubt conjuring up another spell. Michael grinned and turned on his heel to lunge for the boy. His advance was cut off quickly when the bearded man swing the axe again but Michael used the attack to his advantage. As soon the axe connected with the stone floor and Michael planted his foot on it to slam the handle of his sword against the back of the bearded man’s head. As he fell, Michael pushed off him to lunge for the dark haired boy who was quickly backing away, still conjuring something else up. He was quick but Michael was quicker and he brought his blade up, seconds away from hitting him when an arrow whizzed by and struck Michael’s blade hard enough to knock it off course and cause Michael to lose his footing.

He jerked his gaze towards where the fourth man stood. He was clad in all green, a darker shade making up the long scarf and hood that was pulled over his head. He had another arrow trained on Michael and was saying something about not wanting to do this but Michael just grinned and lunged for him. If this guy didn’t want to fight, he should have kept his big nose out of this. He found a new grip on the handle of his blade and charged for the tall man. He was about half way to him when the arrow pierced through his shoulder, making Michael groan out in pain. He staggered for only a moment though as he pushed through the pain and raced towards him. Another shot was fired and Michael again did his best to ignore the pain. He was in striking distance now. All he had to do was raise his blade and the man would be toast. No amount of arrows would save him now. Michael yelled and raised the blade to attack-

-only for his vision of the lanky archer to suddenly be blocked by a wall of rose petals. He moved back and regained his footing just as the petals cleared revealing that the man was now gone. He spun around and yes, all of the men were gone. He growled in annoyance and looked to where Ryan was laughing. He stepped over to Michael and placed a hand on his shoulders. He said something along the lines of ‘good job’ or ‘well done’ or whatever. Michael didn’t exactly care for his words. His fight was gone. He’d been seconds away either ending that brats life or engaging in what could have been an amazing fight. While he was thankful his king was safe, he couldn’t help but be disappointed that he hadn’t actually gotten to kill any of the threats.

“You should not worry. They will be back soon enough.” That got Michael’s attention and he turned a questioning look up towards Ryan who simply grinned at him. “After all, I now have one more thing they will be dying to have back.” Michael didn’t know what that meant. Figured he could ask but it was of none of his concern. Ryan was heading back inside the castle and Michael gave the courtyard one last final glance before he jerked the arrows that were in his shoulders out. The wounds hurt and he made a grunt of pain at the action. He let one clatter to the ground but the final one he couldn’t help turning over in his hands. There was something oddly familiar about the things. He felt like he should know them.

He stared at the object a moment longer, growing frustrated with himself for not being able to recall why these stupid things seemed familiar. In an annoyed growl he snapped it in half and let it fall to the ground before sheathing his blade and following Ryan inside. His king said they’d be back. Michael could wait until the green-clad returned and get his answers then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man this chapter ended up being longer than I had originally planned. Not that that's a bad thing! I actually enjoyed writing it. I'd been debating on when to throw in Michael's POV and originally, this chapter was supposed to be from Ray's and it was going to pick up where chapter 3 left off, but it made more sense to have Michael's first. Also welcome Kerry because every mad king needs a Kerry. Also-Also, my beta compared this chapter to 'The Devil Within' by Digital Daggers so if you're one of those people who likes to listen to fitting music while you read, there you go! Hope you all enjoyed and see you soon for Ray's part!


	5. Chapter 5

It had started to rain shortly after they arrived back at the cabin as if even the weather was growing bleak with the amount of darkness seeming to seep into the air. Ray had quickly went to tend to Jack and Geoff as soon as the rose petals cleared. He was starting to assume he was becoming more of a medic than a mage. _‘Wrong M profession’_ he thought to himself and he had almost told Gavin his amusing train of thought but the archer looked as if he wanted to be left alone. So with a sigh, that’s what Ray did. He turned back to the other men and focused on tending to their wounds while Gavin slid to the floor behind him and didn’t say a word.

It turned out Gavin’s silence and the rain outside didn’t let up days later. If anything the weather seemed to be growing more and more intense, matching the gloomy, dark mood the four men locked inside were in. It wasn’t like Ray expected things to be happy and chipper and for them to go on pretending nothing had happened. Ryan had brainwashed Michael. Had overthrown Geoff, destroyed the kingdom, and was a powerful mad man. And did he mention he had Michael as his own brainwashed body guard?

So Ray understood perfectly why the tension and mood was darker than it had been previously. Michael had been their ace in the hole so to say. They never voiced it, but the boy was willing to bet that each and every man had been hoping to arrive at the castle and have Michael ride up in the nick of time and side with them. Seeing him stand between them and Ryan was like the final punch in the gut. If not even Michael was able to fight Ryan off, what hope was there for them?

Ray sighed annoyed with himself for thinking that and jerked a book from the shelf maybe a little rougher than needed. No, that was a bullshit train of thought. Michael was a good fighter, sure. Deadly aim and precision with his nearly indestructible blade, and sure, he was undefeated when it came to tournaments. But that didn’t mean it was a lost cause for the rightful king and his three trusted men. Ray knew quite a bit of magic he could use to try and incapacitate the warrior. It was just a matter of being able to bring himself to do it. He’d barely been able to attack Michael after seeing him take out Geoff and the idea of hurting his oldest friend so badly was not exactly one Ray smiled on.

So really. Ray understood the mood.

But it was killing him to see his usually ball-of-energy friend reduced to moping on the stairs. The archer still spoke, but it was all forced and it was clear he was hurting. Jack and Geoff were just as gloomy and honestly, Ray got it. He wasn’t some heartless bastard void of emotions. But the fact that the older men, in all their depressing glory, were more talkative than the former thief who usually seemed incapable of being quiet for more than five seconds was unnerving Ray more than the sight of walking up to the corpse ridden castle had. Gavin and Michael were fairly inseparable since the day Geoff made his deal with Gavin so of course he was going to take this the hardest. After all, he’d actually been the only one to attack and make Michael take any damage. Ray couldn’t imagine what he was going through. Expecting him to be perfectly chipper about the whole ordeal wan't fair.

So the young mage made it his personal duty to try and bring everyone’s spirits back up. Despite how lost or upset he felt himself, Ray refused to outwardly show it. Someone needed to be the damn ray of hope in this gloomy ass weather and while yes, that was a damn good pun and any other time he would share it with Gavin in hopes of gaining the man’s usual bubbled-up rush of a laugh, this was no laughing matter. He made sure to greet everyone when they woke up, made sure his voice was calm but his words were upbeat. Tried to make sure no more than thirty minutes passed without saying something. Ray did his damndest to keep the situation away from any talk of Ryan or the kingdom or god forbid Michael.

It was a tough job and Ray silently wished Gavin was in better spirits because the foreigner seemed to always have an easier time of lifting people’s moods and making them laugh. He suddenly had new found respect for his fellow lad. The sun was starting to set on day four of their retreat and while the storm outside raged, Ray offered to take the first watch of the night so the others could get some sleep. He needed some time to himself anyway. Attempting to be everyone’s bright side was exhausting and had put a hold on him scanning all the books the cabin housed. So far nothing had really been all that eye opening. A few new healing spells, ingredients for a new splash potion, and a few other useful tidbits, but all in all they were things Ray already knew. But he was going to go through them all with a fine toothed comb. If anything it would at least be a way to distract himself.

He grabbed a couple more books he hadn’t yet read and went to drop them down on the table, only pausing when he saw something strange. Ray looked at the shelf for a moment before he shifted the weight of the books into one arm and moved to push a few remaining ones on the shelf aside and out of the way. There sitting long ways against the wall and hidden behind others who were facing spine out was an old book Ray hadn’t noticed before. He grabbed the piece of literature and stepped over to the table to set the few others he had down, eyes never leaving the one in his other hand. It was an old, unimpressive looking thing. Clearly quite older than the rest of the books. The spine was barely held together and the leather covering that had been dyed purple was flaking up and away making the title nearly indecipherable.

It wouldn’t be anything impressive to anyone else and maybe it was just because it had been placed so oddly when all the others had been sitting spine outward that made it so alluring to the mage. Almost like it was purposefully trying to be hidden away. Ray sat down at the table and flipped the book open, eyes scanning the pages as he carefully ran his fingers over them. They were old and yellowed, curling at the edges from age and what Ray assumed was dampness. Castles weren’t always the driest of places. But the text was fairly legible so Ray immersed himself in it. When Jack came to relieve him of guard duty Ray denied, saying he wasn’t tired and Jack needed the rest. The red headed man seemed to want to object, but he was clearly still tired and Ray was persistent so he gave in and left the mage to his reading. Which is exactly what Ray did all through the night and most of the next day.

The storm outside now made it impossible to step out and in the silence of the cabin you could hear the wind howling as rain pelted down against the windows and the roof. Jack was stoking the fire as thunder boomed loud and Ray read on, seeming to block out the world around him. Today was more quiet than usual but he was too invested in this book to care. It actually had mentions of things Ray hadn’t ever even heard of. Spells calling for something called blaze? Portals that would lead to another world and enchantments for weapons? Ray hadn’t even heard of half of this being possible but the main thing of interest to him were the mentions of Ender magic. The book looked down on it, said it was dangerous, deadly, and unpredictable if the user didn’t know what they were doing. It didn’t tell Ray how the magic itself worked, but it was enough to get some insight on what exactly they were up against. After all, up until Ryan, Ray had only assumed Ender magic was something the feared Endermen themselves could wield. Not something humans could obtain.

But even that wasn’t what planted another seed of hope in Ray. There was a spell in here that genuinely had the boy excited. It was complicated and would take everything he had to even try to pull it off, but if he was successful, then maybe they’d be able to get the upper hand on Ryan. “Down on your knees and form an orderly line, boys. Who wants to start thanking me first?” He finally said and his voice must have been louder than he thought because no sooner had he spoke had all three men immediately turned to look at him, Gavin even having jumped from his perch on the steps.

“Did you find something?” Ray nodded in confirmation as Geoff stood from his spot by the fire to walk over and peer down at the book Ray had been reading like his life depended on it. Little did the king know, their future very well might. Ray pointed to a page just as Jack strode over to stand on his other side and see for himself what had the mage excited.

On the opposite page of the text there was a picture of a man sitting in a circle. It cut away, a line drawn crudely through the page to depict another version of the man walking through what was supposed to be a wall. “It’s a powerful kind of pure magic called astral projection. Essentially it will let me project a version of myself and be able to get around undetected and go through walls.”

“So you would be like a ghost.” All three men looked over to where Gavin was seated on the stairs. His head tilted a bit to the side as if he had meant for his statement to be a question. “Ghost Ray.”

Ray smiled wide as he nodded his head in agreement. He was pretty sure he’d almost forgotten just how bad Gavin’s accent sounded given the silence over the past few days. “Something like that, yes.”

“Is it safe?” Jack took Ray’s focus off Gavin and gave him a cautious look but Ray shrugged, set on going back to explaining the workings of the spell. Jack wasn’t, however, as he frowned and beat the mage to talking by repeating his question. “Ray, is it safe?”

“Hell if I know, Jack. I didn’t even know magic like this existed until today.”

That was apparently the wrong answer because Jack’s frown deepened and he shook his head, arms folding over his chest. “No, I do not like it. You should not be messing around with magic you do not understand.”

Ray shot him a glare. Was he being serious? Ray had found a way they could get the upper hand on Ryan and Jack was saying no?! “Why not? Do you have any idea what I’d be able to do? I could get into Ryan’s potion room and see what he’s hiding. See if I can find the source of all his powers. It would let me get inside the castle and snoop around and maybe figure out just where the Ryan learned to raise the god damn dead! I could even figure out a way to break Michael free!” Soon as the words left his mouth, Ray was pretty sure he should regret them given the brief tense silence that followed and Gavin’s crestfallen look, but he ignored it, eyes narrowed on Jack. “I’d rather go into the unknown than wait here and do nothing.”

“But messing with unknown magic is what got us into this mess!”

“And maybe doing it right back is how we get out!” Ray snapped, the usually calm and collected mage becoming increasingly annoyed. He’d finally found them a legit realistic hope and Jack was shooting it down! Yes he was getting a little pissed.

Jack’s own gaze narrowed and he opened his mouth to retort but Geoff held a hand up for both of them to be silent. He hadn’t once looked up from the book since he’d walked over and he seemed to study the picture one last time before he finally studied Ray. “Are you going to be able to use weapons or magic in this state?”

Ray hesitated for a moment before he shrugged. He really didn’t want to explain this part in fear Geoff would side with Jack but he was pretty sure the king would be able to tell in seconds if he lied about it. “I’m honestly not sure. It’s going to take a lot of magic just to be able to project myself. Being able to hold a weapon or cast another spell while in that state probably won’t be possible.”

Geoff nodded his head once as he took in Ray’s explanation and another quiet moment past as the king seemed to mull everything over. “Jack is right. This is a big risk. You could get caught or killed or something could go wrong and you will be unable to return to normal.” Ray was pretty sure his heart skipped a beat and he took a step forward to protest only for Geoff to hold his hand up again. “But I also know desperate times call for desperate measures. Do you feel confident you will be able to cast it?” Ray nodded his head stubbornly and grinned a little to emphasize his point. “Then it is worth a shot.”

That was all Ray needed to hear before he quickly went about gathering everything he’d need. Jack wasn’t happy about this and a couple of times he tried to make his protests known but Geoff wouldn’t hear it and Ray was thankful for that. He could appreciate the man’s concern, but this may be their only chance to figure out a counter attack or find a way to break Ryan’s hold on Michael. The kingdom and the other knights had risked their life to stop Ryan so why shouldn’t Ray?

About fifteen minutes later had the table pushed back against the wall to give Ray enough room to etch out the pattern the spell needed to work. He had candles placed where directed and the book open in front of him as he sat down in the middle and took a deep breath. “You sure about this, Ray?” Geoff gave him a look which reminded Ray incredibly of a worried father talking to his son one last time before he was sent off to war. As strange as the thought was, it actually relieved Ray a little and he smiled, giving the king a thumbs up.

“YOLO, right?” Jack rolled his eyes and scrubbed a hand over his face clearly worried. Ray gave him a reassuring smile before turning his attention to Gavin. “Try not to worry so much, Vav. I’ll figure out a way to get your butt-buddy back.”

Gavin rolled his eyes but Ray saw the corner of his lips tug up slightly in what could have been a smile before the archer made his way to stand with Jack and Geoff just a little ways away from Ray’s work space. “Be careful, yeah?”

“Don't worry about it. Careful is actually my middle name, buddy! Ray Careful Narvaez Jr. I'm sorry you had to find out this way.” This earned him a smile and with that, he nodded his head to the men in a silent ‘wish me luck’ before closing his eyes and starting the spell. The room was silent with none of the men daring to make a sound that might distract Ray from his focus and soon enough, the candles started flickering and a slight wind started picking up, almost like someone had opened a window to let in the raging storm outside. The book in front of Ray started turning pages rapidly as the wind picked up and then suddenly the candles were blow out and everything went still.

 

* * *

 

_Growing up with gypsys wasn’t exactly as fun as stories and tales made it sound. Ray had grown up poor with never quite enough food to make his stomach happy because there was never enough to stuff himself and still allow everyone else in his camp to eat. His mother was a kind woman who was as goregous as the raven colored hair that ran to her shoulders and she did her best to supply her son a good life and he loved her dearly for it. There family consisted of only them since he could remember. Well, not including the rest of the traveling performers that had raised him like a family would. But as far as parents and siblings went, it had always just been them. His dad hadn’t ever really been in the picture. His mother used to tell him it was because his father was a strong, brave warrior who had been sent away on a long quest by a king to defeat a legendary dragon. Ray never actually believed her stories, but he went along with them. They seemed to make her feel better and it was a nicer thought than what he knew was the truth; that they had been abandoned by the man._

_Maybe that was why when he found he had a knack for magic, he left the only life he knew to dedicate himself to something that might one day earn him the attention of a king. He missed his mother and the people who were his family, but he enjoyed learning magic and was told time and time again that he was gifted in it. It came naturally to him and Ray made it his goal to learn each and every type he could get his hands on. So when word spread that there was a kingdom with a powerful vagabond potion master who had quickly fallen into the king’s good graces, Ray made a bee line for the kingdom. The plan was to study under the master for a month or so then be on his wal as usual. He expected to find the man known as Ryan there and a maybe a king and a knight or several, but Ray could have never dreamed the castle would become the permanent home he never had. His dedication and his knowledge of many different spells was enough to gain both his and the potion masters attention and before he knew it, Ray's short stay had somehow become permanent and for that the mage was eternally thankful._

_The people he met and befriended became Ray’s ‘family away from family’. Upon his arrival, he had been greeted by an annoyed looking man with a bear skin draped over his shoulders and Ray could have never guessed that the foul-mouthed knight would end up being one of the best friends he could ever hope for. Not a year later and a gangly archer with his made up words and squawking sounds of surprise rounded off Ray’s makeshift family. He, Michael, and Gavin worked incredibly well together on quests and missions. Ray’s strategies and spells along with Gavin’s aim and thieving skills combined with Michael’s brute force and fighting prowess made for a powerful force to be reckoned with and the three became fast friends._

_They’d spend their down time in a corner of the castle grounds that had an old oak tree growing through the gates and, courtesy of the mage himself, rose bushes peppering the sides along the walls. It was the ‘Lad Headquarters’ as Geoff liked to call it and if none of the men could be found around the castle, it was a likely chance they’d be there. Gavin usually rested in the tree, one leg dangling down from the branches and Michael would sit on the ground under him. His reasoning was something along the lines of ‘someone’s got to catch Gavin when he falls’. Ray would either sit on the branch opposite Gavin if his roses didn’t need tending or down in the soft grass with Michael, reading while the other two did their usual playful banter or another round of hypothetical nonsense questions and bets._

_“Michael, would you rather eat a dead mans toe or lick the inside of Edgar’s arsehole.”_

_“What is wrong with you?” Michael shot a glare up at the now laughing archer. “How about I pick neither and we pretend you never spoke.”_

_“No no! You have to choose! Say your life depends on it-“_

_“Why would my life ever depend on such a pointless thing.”_

_“Well there are tribes in remote areas that consider human flesh a delicacy and have been known to kill if someone refuses to take part in their 'nice gesture of a feast'. So I'd go long pig all the way.”_

_There was a pause after Ray spoke up in which Michael gave him a borderline horrified look before Gavin started laughing. “So you'd pick the dead guy's foot?" Ray nodded, grinning slightly as Michael made a face and shook his head as if he was disappointed in his choice in friends. "There is more wrong with you than meets the eye.”_

_“You really going to pick the other option? You know what's come in that ass?”_

_“Don't you mean what’s come out of that arse?”_

_Ray looked up to give Gavin a very serious look. “No. I meant come in. Ryan the animal man.” This earned him another horrified look, this time from Gavin and Michael lost it, leaning forward to hold his sides as he laughed._

_“That is most disgusting!” Michael managed between bursts of laughter._

_“Hey, Vav’s the one who asked.”_

_“I didn’t know you were going to take it to a bloody dark place, you smegpot!”_

_“How is asking me to pick between kissing a cow’s bottom or eating a rotten toe not dark but Ryan having sexual relations with said cow is?” Michael looked up just in time to see Gavin make a disgusted face once more which did nothing but start his laughing fit up all over again._

_“Bloody hell.” Gavin mumbled as he pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes as if to block out the image. Ray just grinned as he scanned the pages of his book. “Would you really opt to eat a human though, Ray?”_

_“Over Ryan’s sloppy seconds? Yes. Also I’m all for taste testing any food before you write it off. You only live once, right?”_

_Michael groaned at the saying and rolled his eyes. “We must figure out a shorter way for you to say that if you insist on saying it so often. It is too much of a mouthful as is.”_

_“That’s what Edgar moo-ed.”_

_“Ray!” Michael and Gavin said in unison, the warrior's tone one of exasperation while Gavin was all giggles._


	6. Chapter 6

For a few moments Ray’s world was blank. There wasn’t any sound or smells, nothing to feel and nothing to see. There was no light and yet there was no darkness. It was a strange feeling, as if he were weightless but also incredibly heavy. This feeling lasted for what felt like hours and the young mage did his best not to freak himself out. Getting lost in this state would mean he’d be stuck. The book had informed him of that. Finally something seemed to flash from behind his eyelids and the young mage opened his eyes to come face-to-wall with the castle. He blinked once, twice, and then a third time just to be sure before he held his hands out and looked down at them. He turned them over a few times and touched his arm to find out that yes, he was still solid. Had he messed the spell up? Teleported himself here instead of projecting himself? A bubble of panic started to rise as he glanced around trying to think of what he should do now. His spell had apparently failed and now he was just as helpless as he’d been five days ago!

Maybe Jack was right and this was a stupid idea. Maybe he had done nothing but deliver himself to Ryan with his head on a silver platter. The rising panic was doing more than just bubble to the surface now as the realization that their last hope was now completely gone because he’d messed up. He had been so sure he’d done everything right! Did he say it wrong? Not have the right ingredients? Maybe he shouldn’t have jumped into a spell he didn’t even think possible until thirty minutes prior to trying. The rising panic was feeling more and more like bile creeping up his throat and Ray ducked his head, reaching an arm out to hold himself steady against the wall as he prepared to empty his stomach.

Only, his hand just kept going and never collided with a solid surface. The mage froze after regaining his footing, sickness momentarily wavering. Slowly he raised his head up to see his hand had indeed touched the wall but was now no longer visible as it had seemingly kept going until it had sunk through the wall. Ray sucked in a sharp gasp and jerked his hand back as if it had been burned. He clutched it to his chest, running his other hand over to inspect it for damage while he looked at the wall in amazement. Did he just…

“Don’t tell me…” He mumbled the words to himself and hesitantly, he reached the same hand back out and pressed it against the wall. When it repeated the motion of slipping through as if it were nothing but an empty archway, Ray’s face lit up in an excited grin. “Oh man. Ghost Ray is officially a thing.” He took a step forward and passed through the wall and into one of the castle’s grand hallways. ' _Jack’s going to have to eat his words like a turkey leg.'_   The idea only made Ray grin wider as he quickly made his way down the familiar corridors.

He’d appeared right outside the hall leading to the throne room and Ryan’s potion room was just a hall over and right outside to the right. The castle was empty as Ray made his way through which, given his mission, worked out nicely. It didn’t, however, help with the eerie feeling that constantly had the young mage looking over his shoulders. If he focused on it too much he was reminded of the grim scene awaiting him in the court yard and all through the town leading up to the castle gates so Ray just picked up his pace and arrived at Ryan’s potion room without giving the few bodies scattered along the way a glance.

The room itself didn’t look much different than what Ray had remembered it. There was a chair sitting in the middle that looked oddly of place given there was nothing at all around it but some rope. Almost like it had been dragged there to make someone the center of attention. The ropes were resting in the seat and as he got closer, there was what looked like a few splatters of blood on the floor so Ray pulled his attention away. What wasn’t stained with blood in this castle now? Ryan certainly had done a number on the place. He pushed the chair from his mind and turned to the large shelf housing Ryan’s many books, potions, ingredients, and pretty much anything the vagabond had ever needed. It was probably wishful thinking but maybe Ryan had left something useful to him out.

Ray scanned the books quickly but none of them seemed to be all that helpful or insightful. Potion making, maps, spell books Ray had read and memorized, it was all stuff the man knew to be harmless or completely irrelevant to any of the self-proclaimed Mad King’s new powers. Ray turned away and towards the workbench where something then grabbed his attention. Sitting there were fragments of some sort. They were dark, pitch black almost except when the flickering light from the torch on the wall hit them just right and made them seem to glow faintly purple. Ray frowned as he reached a hand down slowly unsure on if he’d be able to touch let alone pick up a piece in this state. His first try, much to his annoyance but not surprise, was unsuccessful. He hadn’t even made the damn thing wobble. He tried again and again and on the fourth time, the force of his hand sliding through the table made a few of the shards roll away as if he’d blown on them.

Ray studied them for a moment, head tilted to the side slightly as he seemed to think this over. If he could disturb them, then there was potential he could grab them, right? Taking a deep breath, Ray closed his eyes and reached out to try once more to grab a piece. His mind was focused on nothing else, just the mental image of holding the shard in his hand and willing himself to grab it. He didn’t open his eyes again until he had his hand up in front of his face, grinning triumphantly as there in his palm was a piece of the shattered stone. So he could grab things like this! It took intense concentration and Ray still wasn’t exactly sure how this spell worked, but he could interact with the world if he tried hard enough! That just gave him another step up in his snooping.

Suddenly something cut his celebration short and Ray jerked his head towards the foot steps he heard jogging towards the room. Instinct had him looking around frantically for a place to hide and just as the door opened, Ray dove under the desk. Now it dawned on him seconds later as whoever it was rummaged around muttering to themselves that part of this spell was that Ray was supposed to be invisible. Gavin hadn’t exactly been wrong with the whole ‘ghost’ idea. So after repeating his dumb motto in his head, Ray slowly rose up from his spot – which put him standing through the desk which was _still_ awesome! This ghost thing was amazing – to find Kerry digging around one of Ryan’s shelves. He apparently couldn’t find what he was looking for there because he stood up and turned to look directly at Ray.

The mage was pretty sure his heart stopped as the second Kerry turned in his direction, a smile fell across his face and he stepped over towards Ray. The mage went to take a step back and away when he froze as Kerry’s hand went through him to grab a few old looking scrolls that had been resting on the desk behind, or rather _in_ , Ray. The assistant clutched the scrolls to his chest and turned to leave, giving Ray a moment to shudder at the idea of what had just happened. Alright, so maybe being a ‘ghost’ had some drawbacks. Some very personal space invading ones.

Composing himself again, Ray moved to follow Kerry back outside and into the castle. The man made his way through the corridors with practiced ease and for a while, Ray had no idea just where the hell he was going. He also had no guarantee that Kerry was going anywhere that would be of use to Ray but it would be better than hopelessly grasping at straws in poking around Ryan’s workshop. If anyone was going to have any insight on Ryan’s new found power, it would be Kerry.

After walking down a flight of stairs, Ray finally figured out what direction they were headed in; Ryan’s room. It was on the opposite end of the castle than his workshop for reason’s Ray had never fully grasped considering the rest of them all resided fairly close to one another and closer to the potion room. But apparently Ryan had insisted on this room and the king had been more than happy to oblige. After all, Geoff was going to do whatever it took to keep the powerful potions master at his side. It had become a bit of an ongoing joke. Why wouldn’t he want to be closer to them all? But after a few teasing jabs, the others simply accepted it and let the subject go. There were a lot of things they did that with when it came to Ryan. His dark sense of humor, slightly off putting comments, and strange over bearing presence had been written off simply as ‘Ryan being Ryan’. They didn’t really have a reason to look into it more but maybe if they had, if they’d called him out on his twisted sense of humor rather than shrugging it away like it was nothing, this could have been prevented.

But saying ‘what if’ wasn’t going to help Ray now.

Kerry had pushed the door to Ryan’s room open and made a bee line for a wall on the opposite end of the room. He shifted the scrolls in his arms to one hand and reached up to remove the touch in the holder and the wall slid open to reveal a spiraling staircase downward. Ray stared at it stunned. Well that would explain why Ryan wanted this room. Did Geoff know about this? There was a secret passage in this huge tower and Ray hadn’t ever even gotten to know about it? Man, talk about living up to clichés. The bad guy has a secret passage leading to his dungeon of doom. Typical.

The stairs went on for a while and when Kerry finally reached the bottom, Ray could see Ryan standing at a desk with his back to them. He was still wearing Geoff’s red cape and the crown was settled firmly on his head. Only now there was a slight crack in the side and the sight of the man in the garments was enough to make Ray’s blood boil. Ryan was lucky he couldn’t use magic or hold a sword in this state. Yet. “About time. Did you get what I asked?” Kerry nodded as he quickly stepped over to Ryan and set the scrolls he’d brought with him on the desk. Ryan grabbed one and pushed it open, smiling to himself as he turned to look back at the piece of parchment he’d been going over when they’d arrived. Ray carefully – though he wasn’t sure why seeing as he couldn’t exactly bump into things like this – made his way over to see what Ryan had spread out in front of him.

The scroll Kerry had brought seemed to be a list of some sort. Spells maybe? They were in a strange language Ray didn’t know but remembered seeing in the book. He moved to see what Ryan had in front of him and realized it was a guide of some sort. A key that looked to translate the symbols on the other scroll. The symbols - or if they were a language than letters - where very strange. They were made up of lines both slanted and straight as well as dots and none of them even resembled any alphabet Ray knew of in the slightest. Ryan went quiet again as he glanced from each piece of parchment to the next, jotting things down with a pen. Kerry was dutifully quiet as his master worked and Ray was thankful for that. He had absolutely no idea what the hell Ryan had here, but if the potions master was working this hard to translate something, Ray was willing to bet his life on it being important.

He worked over Ryan’s shoulder for a while as he tried to transcribe the scroll himself at the same time the older man did. Though it wasn’t making much sense to him if he was being honest. It seemed more like a weather report than anything and that fact confused Ray to no end. What the hell did Ryan want with some ancient weather report? He glanced at Ryan’s transcribing again and frowned slightly. He seemed to be making faster headway in this than Ray which wasn’t all that surprising. He was a man of many talents and was very smart. Made having him as an opponent all the more terrifying. As much as Ray wanted beat the man to translating, he figured it would be easier to just read the paper when Ryan was finished. Besides he needed to snoop around to try and find a way to stop Ryan’s power and free Michael. And clearly, he’d been led straight to the most likely place Ryan would hide such a thing.

Moving away from the table in the middle of the room Ray went to look over the papers scattering the desk opposite Ryan. There were open books and papers scattered all over and it looked a lot like the state of Jack’s cabin after Ray got a hold of it. He scanned them over and read the notes Ryan had scrawled in the corners of the pages and the sections he had underlined. Realistically Ray knew it would be a false hope that Ryan would just so happen to leave the book open with the words ‘brainwashing a knight’ written in bold, dark letters. Knew that finding a piece of paper with a step by step guide on how to shut Ryan’s powers down wasn’t just going to fall out of a book and land right in front of Ray’s feet. This wasn’t a story or a fairy tale after all and that sort of thing only happened in the pages of a child’s bed time novel.

 _‘Still would be nice. Would opt for slaying a witch in a candy house right about now over this’_ Ray thought to himself as he scanned over the pages and books strewn across the room. For the most part the room remained silent. The only sounds where Kerry sweeping and papers being shuffled about as Ryan worked. Ray had moved from one side of the desk to another and was about to give up and move back towards the potion room when loud footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. They were heavy sounding but not in a hurry and for a split second the familiar sound made Ray forget where he was and what happened. He pictured that the sound was Michael coming down stairs after a rather rude awakening, grumbling about being woken up so early all because Gavin wanted someone to go into town with him.

He turned to look at the stairs where sure enough, there stood Michael, frown etched across his lips and ever present bear skin slung over his shoulders. Only the sight of him now crushed the illusion that things were normal and made Ray’s blood run cold because the glazed over look in his eyes wasn’t right. No, this wasn’t their Michael. This was Ryan’s Michael. This was the Michael that had almost killed Ray and had been inches from slaughtering Gavin without hesitation days ago and seeing him now only relit the candle of anger placed there by the potions master now turning up to give the warrior a smirk. “Michael. I trust everything went well for you?” Michael didn’t answer, instead stepping over to drop a few crushed roses and a broken arrow head on Ryan’s desk. The blond sighed at the mess now sitting atop his translating and batted it to the floor. “I take that as you getting close.”

Again, Michael said nothing. His response was scowling at the king until he had Ryan's gaze on him, then shook his head so the water droplets from the raging storm that were clinging to his curls and the bear hide went everywhere. The king quickly moved to cover the scrolls from the offending water but he seemed to understand what Michael meant. “Yes, Michael. I am well aware of your hate for rain.” Ryan chuckled to himself as if there was a private joke only he knew the punchline to. “But you should really get used to it. The down pour is only going to get worse from here.” There went Ryan speaking in cryptic bullshit again. Ray’s gaze narrowed slightly on the mad king. Even all powerful and he still spoke like a crazy person. Honestly, they really should have seen this coming sooner.

The auburn haired man still had a scowl set across his face and as Ray got closer he could see the droplets of water that were clinging to his curls and the fur of the animal draped across his shoulders. His brown eyes had the same slightly glazed look to them like when Michael had a few too many drinks. They were hiding dark circles under his eyes as if the knight hadn’t slept and Ray’s hands fisted tighter at his sides with his hate towards Ryan. The man was going to pay. Ray would make sure of that.

He gave his friend one last look over before stepping back to give Ryan’s translating another go. So far the ‘secret room’ wasn’t housing anything Ray didn’t already know. The papers and books littering the area were full of maps and yes, he’d seen ‘ender magic’ come up a few times but with Kerry and Ryan in the room, Ray couldn’t exactly search through them. He may be hidden but turning pages and rustling papers was bound to raise the two men’s alarms. Also Ray wasn’t convinced he’d be able to do that in this state just yet. He’d barely managed to pick up a damn pebble.

So for now, he’d give Ryan’s work one last look and then go back to search the potion room until the three men vacated the hidden area. It seemed Ryan had made quite a bit of progress on translating the scrolls as he was scanning the very bottom row now. Ray leaned over the desk more and craned his neck to the side as he read the top few lines. It was a spell of some sort. Apparently an ancient one given the language it was written in. As Ryan moved to unroll more, his arm moved away and Ray could read the rest. However when he did, his stomach dropped. That, this wasn’t possible, right? Ryan couldn’t, couldn’t do this! Even with his new found powers this was too much!

Ray jerked his head up to give the man a horrified look even if he couldn't be seen. Their odds just got incredibly lower if Ryan was going to be able to pull this off. He needed to get back to Geoff. Michael was suddenly a minor threat if what he had just read was true. Ray took a few slow steps away from the mad king as if he expected him to suddenly turn his deadly gaze on him and acknowledge that he’d known Ray had been there the whole time. Which at this point if he did, Ray honestly wouldn’t be surprised. This was turning into a bigger nightmare than he could have imagined.

Taking a deep breather that felt more like a gulp than anything else, Ray closed his eyes tight and willed himself away from this place and away from Ryan and Kerry and his brainwashed friend. He tried to focus on Jack’s cabin and getting back to himself. He recalled what the spell said about entering out of this state and back to normal, how it was a risk if he wasn’t careful and he tried to force himself to calm down and on returning back. Which was harder to do than you’d think. The news he had for his king wasn’t good by any means and the whole reason he’d gone had been a complete bust. They were no closer to shutting down Ryan’s powers or breaking his hold over Michael and all he’d accomplished was figuring out another way Ryan intended on letting his power grow stronger.

His world was a blur of mainly darkness with blurry colors strewn about along it. Almost like walking through a dark tunnel only for colorful lights to be flashed in front of him. If he focused, he could cling to specific colors and match them to what he remembered the inside of Jack’s cabin to look like. The words from Ryan’s scroll were forced to the back of his mind for the moment and finally when Ray snapped his eyes open, he was looking into the worried faces of Geoff, Jack, and Gavin. “So we may be about to get royally overpowered. Pun may or may not be intended.”

If there was going to be a look of relief on the men’s faces, Ray realized he’d never see it because his less than delicate way or phrasing what had happened probably dashed it away. “Is there not a way to snap Michael back?” Gavin’s gaze lowered and he visibly deflated at Geoff’s question but it went ignored by both men as Ray shook his head.

“I don’t know, I didn’t come across anything talking about it.”

“Then why are we-?”

“Because he can apparently summon and control storms.” Geoff’s mouth snapped shut from his unfinished question, jaw clenching and Jack paled considerably.”

“How? Where is he getting all this power?!”

It was a good question. A damn good one and Ray honestly wanted the answers to it as well. He’d devoted his life to learning all he could and then Ryan decided to show up with a type he’d never even heard of and somehow overnight he’s a damn expert? It didn’t make any sense to the mage either. He watched as Geoff set to pacing around the room and Jack slumped back in one of the chairs. They had an even slimmer chance of winning if Ryan was going to be capable of controlling the weather now. “I was lead into this room just off his that goes underground. He had some scroll written in a language that he had to decode himself and the same that is seen a few times in my book. It was very old and even he couldn’t read it so he had a legend of some sort and was deciphering it letter by letter. I was able to get a peek at it and it’s a spell. The same kind of magic he used against us, on the knights, on Michael,” Ray cast a careful glance at Gavin who ducked his head. “is going to give him the ability to summon any type of weather he can dream up.”

Geoff scrubbed a hand over his face as he paced and listened to Ray recap what he saw. “I bet that is what he had Michael off doing while we were away, god dammit!” He ran a hand through his hair and gripped it slightly, eyes focused in a glare. Ray hadn’t thought of that at the time, but he was willing to bet Geoff was right. It would make sense. Explain why he hadn’t yet decoded it. If Michael didn’t return until after them then it would explain why he hadn’t used it when they first arrived or even when they tried to attack again days ago. Would also explain why so suddenly the raging storm outside had done nothing but get progressively worse.

“What’s in your hand?” Gavin’s question jerked Ray out of his grim train of thought and he turned to give the archer a questioning look. Gavin nodded down towards Ray’s left hand that was still clenched in a tight fist. “Your hand. Are you holding something?”

Wait, was he? Ray had been so focused on telling them what he’d found out he hadn’t even noticed. Gavin’s question had grabbed the other men’s attention and Ray brought his hand up, opening it to reveal the small shard of dark rock he’d managed to grab from inside Ryan’s potion room. “What is that, Ray?”

“I don’t-…” Ray let his train of thought trail off as he looked the shard over. He’d been able to pick this up and hold onto it even after returning to his normal body? He really needed to explore this whole projection thing to its fullest. There was no telling what he’d be able to do in this state if he was able to take items!

“Ray? What is it?”

The mage blinked up at his king before letting his gaze fall back to the rock. “Right yeah. It uh, it came from the potion room. There were a lot of shards like this smashed on his work bench.”

“Let me see.” Gavin was suddenly right beside Ray with a serious expression on his face. Ray was a bit taken aback by that. The look didn’t seem right on Gavin. Almost deadly. He hesitated for a moment but held the shard out and let Gavin take it. A mix of emotions flashed through Gavin’s face as he looked it over, most notable being horror and anger before he spoke again, cutting off any attempt Ray was about to make to comfort him. “This was around Michael’s neck. I saw it before Ray teleported us back to the cabin. There’s some kind of choker with a stone just like this in the center.”

“You sure it is the same rock? Not just another trinket Michael took upon himself to wear?”

Gavin turned to shoot Jack a glare and the bearded man instantly closed his mouth to cut off any further protests. “I know what I saw. This was around his neck.”

Ray stepped over and took the shard from Gavin and the motion stopped him from giving the architect a death glare. He turned it over in his hands as he examined it closer now. If Gavin was right then… “I might know how to break Michael free.” That earned him a stunned silence. Ray didn’t look at them through, just turned the shard over in his hand as if willing it to suddenly spill all its secrets to him. “I mean I can’t be sure and I’d rather not test my theory without doing a little more research on this. I already got up close and personal with his blade once. Rather not do that again if I can help it, but I may have an idea.”

Gavin's serious expression turned hopeful and even Geoff's eyes seemed to brighten at Ray's words. “That is not going to help us with Ryan and his apparently god like abilities though.” Jack reminded and just like that, the little hope they had with Ray’s mention of Michael was dashed. “Sorry, just, I would hate for us to get excited over one victory that might not even prove to be helpful.”

“What are you on about?! How is getting Michael back not helpful?!" After days of hardly speaking at his normal volume, Gavin's raised voice was like the thunder booming outside as he reeled on Jack. "Do you think you’d be able to take on Ryan with your bloody lil'axe and stand a better chance than Michael would?” Gavin’s tone was loud and harsh as he took a step towards Jack. The volume made Ray cringe at first because on the few occasions Gavin had spoken, his voice had been so quiet compared to his yelling now. “I’ve seen you both fight, Jack, and I know good and well you’d end up flat on your back with a sword-!”

“Gavin, enough.” Geoff moved in between them both and pushed a seething Gavin back a few steps, holding onto his upper arm in an attempt to pull him out of his rage. The king gave him the same look a parent might give a disruptive child, speaking to him in a firm yet oddly calming voice. “He just meant even if we do manage to snap Michael out of Ryan's hold, it is not going to assure us victorious is Ryan can turn a tornado on us.”

Gavin seemed to consider his words for a moment before he jerked his arm away and mumbled something under his breath. He turned then and went to sit on the steps, not giving the men another word as he fell back into silence. The others stayed quiet as well and Ray didn’t want to be the one to break it this time. This entire situation had gotten worse than it had when he'd left. Geoff sighed and rubbed a hand over his face again as he stepped to gaze out the window at the raging storm. The mage couldn’t imagine what was going through his head but luckily for Ray, the king was the one to break the tense silence hanging in the air. “We are not at a loss just yet, gents. Ryan may have more resources than first thought, but we have no shortage of allies.” He turned to give the men a stern look. Anger was etched into the corners of his usually sleepy blue eyes and his face was firm and rigid. For the first time in his life, the king actually looked as old as his age. “Get some rest because tomorrow, we are heading out and recruiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm fairly sure I rewrote this chapter half a dozen times before I finally got it to where I at least tolerated it... Even now I'm not convinced I like the flow but I needed to just hurry up and move on so I apologize if it's not all that great. This was honestly the one part that really pushed me into making this fic a reality. I wanted to put my own spin on 'ghost Ray' and him silently creeping through Ryan's things was a scene that had been in my head since the suggestion of this fic becoming an on-going story came to mind. Which might be why I never ended up liking how it turned out... But in any case! Plot's moving along again and next chapter will hopefully be a more pleasant one! New people to bring in and hopefully a more light-hearted air about it.


	7. Chapter 7

Geoff hadn’t been lying about them packing up and moving out. Ray told them how Michael had been tracking them and given the proof he had seen Michael drop on Ryan’s desk, he was getting close. The dark harried king, while torn with remorse on the situation at hand, refused to let it show any more than he already had. This was the final straw. He was done sitting around and waiting to heal while Ray dug through books and Gavin seemed to guilt himself into a spiraling depression. So that night he explained his plan. They were leaving the cabin considering it was only a matter of time before Michael tracked them there and sitting inside hadn’t gotten them very far at all. They were going to move out and cash in on favors owed to the king and recruit troops to at least raise their odds in taking down the mad king.

God did referring to Ryan as that make him sick. Ryan wasn’t a king. At least not a respectable one. He’d stolen the crown in the most underhanded way Geoff thought to be possible. Just imagining the man sitting on the throne with Geoff’s crown on his head and his own kingdom burning down around Ryan’s feet made his skin crawl.

* * *

 

Which was exactly the motivation he needed to finally put a plan into action. They needed an attack, a battle plan and another hope. Moping about in ‘safety’ was just going to end up killing more innocents and Geoff refused to be held responsible for anymore death. He had a map stretched out across the desk as the four men sat around him as he explained what was going to be in store. He’d been thinking long and hard on this; calling in outsiders. He’d debated on it for days and upon Ray’s return with the news of Ryan’s still increasing power, his decision had been made.

“There is a forgotten kingdom to the north covered in nothing but snow and ice. A witch lives there and rules over it as the queen.” Geoff explained as he pointed to the location on the map.

“I think I’ve met her.” Ray mussed as he leaned closer to see as if the location would somehow confirm his thoughts. “She’s an elemental, correct? Wields ice magic?”

Geoff nodded. “Yes. She is damn good at it too. Ages ago when there had once been a kingdom, her land had been a faithful ally. But years passed and her kingdom became unbearable for anyone without magic to live in. Hopefully she still considers us allies and I think we might be able to convince her to help us since Mi-“ Geoff stopped himself and gave a careful glance at Gavin who looked at him blankly, not seeming to have noticed Geoff’s almost slip up. “Since my kingdom is now being controlled by a lunatic.” He finished, turning his eyes back to the map.

“I understand that her magic may help Ray’s, but how is she going to help even the odds against a man who can not only cause a hail storm but also raise the dead?”

Geoff grinned at Jack’s question and nodded toward the frozen location marked on the map. “That’s just it. Her kingdom might not have humans anymore, but that does not mean it is empty. To prevent the remaining people in her kingdom from dying, the queen cast a powerful spell over the land and now it’s filled with creatures referred to as Snow Golem’s.”

“Cute name.” Ray mussed as he leaned back in his seat. “She’s got some powerful magic in her corner too if I’m remembering correctly. It’s not just all sparkles and snowflakes. I met her once when I was traveling with,” Ray stopped himself there and shrugged his shoulders almost making the same mistake Geoff had but managing to glaze over it without incident. “some friends. It’s rare, but sometimes powerful enough elementals can learn more than one element type. It’s usually the opposite element of what they know already. Like, what their weakness is so to say. So if you were a water elemental and were lucky enough to be gifted in magic, you might be able to learn earth as well.” Ray nodded towards the map as if he was motioning toward the woman herself. “Queenie here, last time we met anyway, was already a master of ice and was working on doing the same to fire. Probably an attempt to warm up her land or something.”

Geoff grinned at the explanation and nodded his head in agreement. Ray was absolutely correct and was all the more reason he was really hoping she’d agree to help them. Plus, while her kingdom might not be populated with humans, she’d be one of the kingdoms Ryan would likely target next if and when he decided he wanted his reign to grow. “The queen will at least amp up our magic defense. And her golems should be army enough to take on Ryan’s undead one.”

He pointed to another spot more west than the ice kingdom but still on the way. “There is a town half way between our lands where people fled when the ice kingdom became unlivable. There is a Paladin and a Rogue here who act as gate keepers to her kingdom. They are also very gifted fighters and while they may not be on Ryan’s level, one of them knows his way around brewing potions.” Geoff nodded over towards the few books Ray kept out due to it holding something he thought they could use to their advantage. “I figure if anyone is going to be able to figure out those potions Ray said would be useful, it will be him. Jack and I will cross their path on the way to meet the queen so we shall them for their assistance.”

Jack nodded in understanding and Geoff turned to another section of the map. It was a city in the north west known for its beaches and constant sunshine making its population almost double. “Ray, this is your target. Here lives a monk here who knows more healing spells than I do wine brands. Not that I do not trust your magic, but I would rather you focus on offense and stop having to run the lines patching us all up.” Geoff couldn’t help but smile a bit at the look of relief that washed over Ray’s face. “Focus on counter acting Ryan and let the monk do the healing.”

When Ray grinned and nodded in confirmation, Geoff moved to look at Gavin. “Now Gavin, this one is tricky as I do not know for sure where he even is. There is a mercenary that is an old friend of mine who, last time we got in touch, spoke of staying in this area." He gestured towards the city Ray was to be going to. "That was a few years ago though so I can not be sure he is still around. But you are the one with the most connection to the 'thieving' world so I leave the task of tracking him to you.”

Jack’s face contorted into one of careful caution. “Is it not a little risky to be bringing in a mercenary?” He was always being the level-headed voice of reason and Geoff appreciated that trait in his friend. And any other time he would agree. Mercenaries weren’t exactly known for their loyalty. What they were known for was upping their payment last minute and then usually flat out double crossing you. But not this one and Geoff smiled before shaking his head.

“No, he and I have been friends for years. I will be shocked if he even accepts payment when this is all over and done with.” Geoff paused for a moment before he shrugged and chuckled slightly to himself. “Well, actually no. He will demand payment. But I would still trust him with my life. I am not worried about being crossed. It is just a matter of finding him and explaining the situation. Which is why if any of us are going to stand a chance on locating him, it is going to be Gavin.” Jack still seemed slightly uneasy but he nodded his head not about to question the matter more. Something Geoff was thankful for because they really did need to get some rest and leave out as soon as possible in the morning. The sooner he explained the plan the sooner they could rest up and leave. “Ray? Gavin? It would be best if you guys travel together. Just in case Ryan manages to figure out which ways we went, we stand a better chance in pairs than out on our own.”

Ray nodded and he looked over at Gavin, giving the thief a grin and a thumbs up. “You ready for a quest, Vav?” The sandy haired boy didn’t verbally respond, just gave him a small smile and nodded his head. Not the usual reaction Geoff knew the boy to give, but the smile was a good change of pace. Hopefully getting out of the cabin and making progress on taking Ryan down would rekindle some of the thief’s former optimism. And he knew if anyone was going to be able to do that, it would be Ray.

So the lads would head off to the west while he and Jack went to the north. The plan was to meet back up in a small, hopefully unsuspecting town just outside of Geoff’s kingdom. They had a week at most to get down the town after the meet up date before the worst was to be presumed as they weren’t about to risk communicating with the off chance Ryan might be able to intercept it. So with a plan and a meeting spot in mind, the group split up that morning and went their separate ways. The two gents waited at the cabin until the two lads were no longer in sight before heading off to the north. They would walk until they got to the next town over that Jack said was fairly close and they could get a couple of horses and supplies. Then it would simply be a few days ride to the ice queen’s kingdom and their hopeful accomplices.

During the journey, Geoff had more time to think over the next few steps in their plan. Assuming the best possible outcome was achieved and everybody agreed to help, they were still going to need a battle strategy. Ryan was getting more and more powerful by the day and if he was now able to control the elements, he was going to be that much harder to defeat. If they could get the queens help, then her golems would be more than a little useful against Ryan’s undead forces. If anything it would at least buy them enough time to try and figure out another way around them.

Hopefully between Ray and the queen, they’d have enough magic in their corner to at least even the odds. Even if they couldn’t over power him, it would at least put the ball back in the center rather than remaining in Ryan’s court. That would be when brute force and strength came in to then tip the scale even more for a victory in their favor.

It wasn’t a perfect plan and it was nowhere near being finished, but Geoff clung to it and replayed it over and over in his head as if it were some sort of life saving prayer. Which at this point, it very well might be. They were going to have to take into account many of Ryan’s other abilities and strengths and as much as Geoff didn’t want to think about it, the chance that they couldn’t snap Michael out of it was a very real reality. They had to make a plan for what to do if whatever magic Ryan had pulled couldn’t be reversed. It wasn’t a positive thought in the least, but it was one Geoff knew they needed to be ready to face. He cared for Michael like family and the idea of harming let alone killing him made Geoff’s heart drop. But he couldn’t sit by and let Ryan slaughter millions all because he couldn’t bring himself to take Michael out. As cliché as it sounded, the king knew Michael would prefer his own life be taken if it meant sparring others. It was one reason Geoff trusted the knight so much. He liked to act cold and distant, but he had a heart of gold.

While Geoff remained in his head planning out their future, they arrived at the town without incident and managed to bargain for two horses and some warmer clothes. Which came in quite handy as after a day of traveling, it became very apparent they were headed in the right direction. A definite chill was set in the air and the further they went, the less life there seemed to be. The next and last village was in view and it was a very small, quant place. Hardly qualified to be a village really and Geoff would be amazed if the population exceeded fifty. As they rode through the town, Jack looked over to give him a questioning look which Geoff took as him asking if they were in the right place. The king gave him a nod before looking toward the biggest building at the far end of town. If his initial was correct, this would be where he’d find the two guardians to the queen’s frozen kingdom.

Both men jumped off their horses and tied the reins to a nearby post as they made their way up the stairs. Geoff waited for Jack to stand beside him before he went to knock on the door, only pausing when he heard a crash and the faint sounds of yelling. He gave Jack a puzzled look, the bearded man returning it with one of confusion before they both turned their attention back toward the house. There was laughter now, coming from a man as another man yelled and the sound of quick footsteps could be heard approaching the door. Before Geoff could react further, the front door was flung open while Geoff still stood there with his arm raised and poised to knock.

The came face to face – well, sort of anyway – with a man in brown pants and a loose fitting off white shirt. Silver armor covered his arms and shoulders and when he saw Geoff, he froze and blinked at him confused clearly not expecting his exit to be blocked by the unfamiliar face. “Jeremy! For the last time, stop brewing potions just to-!” Another man, quite a bit taller than the first, rounded the corner next only to stop as well when he too saw the men standing outside, arm still raised in mid knock. This man had a tattered red cloak that went to the middle of his back and a dark mustache with thicker stubble than the first man. Glasses rested on the bridge of his nose and under the cloak, he wore an all-black outfit known to be worn by spies or thieves. He looked from the first man to their guests before holding up a hand in hesitant greeting, almost at a loss of how exactly to act in the sudden confused silence. “Um, hello there. Can we help you?”

“I sure hope so.” Geoff managed as he finally lowered his hand as the shock of the situation fell away. “We are looking for the two guards for the Queen’s kingdom. I was told this was where I could find them.” It came out more as a question than a statement and the first man grinned and gave an over the top bow.

“Well then look no further, stranger.”

“You are the potions expert and battle-strong rogue tasked with protecting the frozen kingdom.” Jack’s voice was dripping with skepticism as he eyed the two boys and to be fair, it was justified. The first man, while having a muscular build, was fairly short. And the second man was quite the opposite almost being as tall as Jack but he was lean and lanky. They didn’t look much like any knights they’d ever seen.

But then to be fair, Geoff’s most trusted warriors didn’t look much like fighters either.

“Potions expert is a relative term.” The man in red muttered as he shot his companion a sharp glare. One which was met with a very pleased grin.

“What? You act as though I set the cat on fire again or something.”

“Oh no no. Nothing like that. You just turned him invisible.”

“Would you prefer I turn him into a cerberus?”

“I would prefer it if you would stop pelting Joe with potions!”

The two bickered back and forth and Geoff and Jack exchanged another look of ‘what exactly is happening here’. “Not to interrupt or anything, but we are kind of on a tight schedule. Are you or aren’t you the two men we are looking for?”

This seemed to remind the pair that they had guests as they stopped their argument short and turned back to face Jack and Geoff. “Well that is going to depend on what exactly you want with the queen.” The man in red said as he folded his arms over his chest. “And who exactly you are.”

“I am King Ramsey and our lands were once ally’s years ago. A mad man has taken my throne and my kingdom and his magic is too much for me take on alone.” Geoff explained, trying to be as quick and to the point as he could be considering they were still standing in the door way. He didn’t exactly want to go into full detail here. The pair suddenly turned serious and exchanged a glance before the shorter of the two stepped back and motioned for them to come inside. Geoff nodded in thanks as he walked in, Jack following suit and staying close to Geoff’s side.

The door was shut and the man in armor led them to a sitting room and told them to sit while he did so himself. “King Geoff, huh? We have heard stories about you. Apparently you are a fairly good king and from what I have heard, loved by most. Who did you manage to annoy enough to think otherwise?”

“Someone I once trusted to protect my throne and my life.” Geoff explained, eyes narrowing just slightly at the mention of Ryan. “He is a powerful man with the ability to raise the dead and summon storms. I am in a state I do not like to admit being in, but I am desperate for all the help I can get.”

The two men exchanged another careful look seeming to have an entire conversation without uttering one word to one another. Geoff looked between them both but stayed silent not wanting to press their chances of getting to see the queen the easy way. After what felt like minutes, the men spoke up. “My name is Matt and this is Jeremy.” The man in red – Matt – explained as he gestured to himself then at his friend.

Jeremy grinned and tipped his head at the introduction. “Pleasure to meet you, your highness.”

Geoff smiled slightly at the greeting. At least they were getting somewhere if they were finally introducing themselves. The king’s attention was then turned back to Matt as the rogue stood to his feet. “We will take you to see her and while I can not say for sure whether or not she will want to assist you, you can count on our help.”

Geoff’s smile grew and he stood as well, extending his hand towards Matt. “I am in your debt then.” Matt smiled and shook his hand before Geoff turned to Jeremy to repeat the gesture for him. “I can not thank you enough.”

“Well do not thank us just yet.” Matt grabbed a belt from a nearby table with a pack housing a variety of daggers inside. He strapped it to where it would hang from his belt and to the strap around the side of his leg. “I hope you are alright to leave now because if so, we can get to her castle just as night falls.” Geoff nodded eagerly and the rogue pulled the hood up over his head as Jeremy went to grab the large, broad sword that was propped up against the wall. He lifted it with ease and strapped it to its place on his back and the pair headed outside with Geoff and Jack following behind. Once they were all ready, Jeremy and Matt took off towards the woods at the edge of town where the top of a frozen castle could be seen peaking up from the tree tops.

The journey to the castle seemed to take longer than it was with the cold wind picking up and whipping against the men as they made their way there. Even under all the layers of clothing Geoff could feel the cold against his skin and it seemed to freeze the blood running through his veins. He gripped the cloak tighter around himself and urged his horse through the snow that was getting harder to see through. If he hadn’t believed the rumors about the place being unlivable before, he sure as hell did now.

Matt and Jeremy reassured them that it wasn’t much further though they had to yell the words over the roaring wind. Geoff was very much thankful for the red cloak the taller male wore because as the snow fell in thick chunks, it was the only thing he was able to make out in a blur of white powder. They seemed to be in a town now, at least that’s what Geoff was assuming it was as they were passing what seemed to be buildings covered in mounds of snow. He could see pieces of wood poking out here and there and movement would catch his eye now and then. He wasn’t able to pinpoint what was causing it, just saw a flash of orange and something move just out of his line of sight. The thought made him keep one hand on the hilt of his blade and stick closer to Jack. The snow golems were supposed to be peaceful but after all that had happened, the king wanted to be safe over sorry.

When they finally arrived at the castle, Jeremy led them through the broken frozen gates and up to the entrance. There were torches lighting the path and while the flames licked up into the air with the force of the wind and the flurries of snow, they remained lit and illuminating the way inside. And dear god once they were safely in the grand hall, Geoff hadn’t been happier to be anywhere in his entire life. The torches continued along the inside as well and while ice still clung to the wall and floors in patches, it seemed to be a great deal warmer than it was outside. That or Geoff was just so frost bitten that his brain was willing to assume such. Either way, he was more than thankful for the warmth. Matt pulled the hood off his head and shook some of the flurries from it before taking his glasses off to remove the water droplets. Jeremy made some comment about them being slowed down because Matt was blind but it went ignored by Geoff as he turned to look at Jack.

The architect was giving him a small look of concern and Geoff waved it off. “I am fine. Ray did a good job patching me up. I can handle a little cold.”

“That was not a little cold.” He heard Jack mutter but he ignored it in favor of following Matt and Jeremy up a flight of stairs on their instruction that the queen would be in her library. As they walked, Geoff took in the the castle. It wasn’t as rundown as a castle that had been abandoned for over one hundred years should be. Instead it was like it was frozen in time. The décor was dated, that much was obvious, but even the air in the place seemed to be frozen solid despite the warmth now seeming to cradle through Geoff's bones. It was a chilling scene to say the least - pun not intended - and Geoff would have reconsidered his plan on requesting assistance from the witch if not for the fact that her power was the exact reason he needed her most. He only prayed she’d be as easily convinced as the two men who now pushed the grand doors to the library open.

As they had said, there in the center of the room stood a woman with almost ruby-red hair standing over a pile of books. The fitted red dress adorned with feathers she wore made her seem almost out of place in the frozen, dark room. Her eyes were on the four men and she blinked before raising an eyebrow in silent question. Matt and Jeremy stepped forward and neither man bowed which did strike Geoff and Jack as odd.

“This is King Geoff and one of his council members, Jack.” Matt explained as he gestured back towards them. The woman’s gaze landed on them and as she took in Geoff, a questionable look filled her eyes.

Geoff made sure to bow before he approached her to show his respect and Jack followed suit. “Queen Lindsay I presume?” He asked giving the woman a smile.

She eyed him for a moment before resting a hand on her hip, gaze narrowing in an almost suspicious matter. “What did you ruin.”

At the abrupt and to the point 'greeting', Geoff froze where he was. He’d been here all of two minutes, had been as polite as could be, and even bowed! Did her two guards somehow explain all that had happened when Geoff hadn’t been paying attention? He cast a confused look at Jack who looked just as shocked as Geoff at not only the queen’s ‘greeting’. “I, I’m sorry?”

“You are the king to the kingdom mine was once an ally with, correct?” Geoff nodded, still rather dumbfounded and she went on. “So the only explanation as to why you would be here yourself for the first time in your life time would be because you messed something up. So what did you do?”

“I did nothing.” Geoff defended once he’d manage to get over the initial shock of how this exchange was going. He’d had dealings with the queen before but never directly. A year or so back he had needed his men to pass through her land and sent Michael and Ray to ask permission and reassure her that if she granted it, they’d be in her debt. It turned out the queen and Michael had actually hit it off and stayed in contact through letters. So really, Geoff guessed he shouldn’t be too surprised about her behavior. After all, if she got along with Michael then it only made sense for her not to be some prim-and-proper over dramatic ice princess. “A mad man by the name of Ryan Haywood has robbed me of my throne and plunged my kingdom into darkness and death. I have tried to take him on myself but he is capable of things I did not think possible and I could not let any more of my men die at his hands.”

Geoff explained the situation and while her expression softened slightly at the tragic tale she clearly hadn’t been expecting, she didn’t yet look convinced to join their cause. “So now you’ve traveled all this way to once again expect a favor from me.” She supplied when Geoff didn’t continue. He wanted to explain themselves, but when it came down to it, she was right. Geoff didn’t have to confirm this because Lindsay crossed her arms over her chest, eyes never leaving him. “Then tell me, why should I agree to help you when you have yet to repay me for my earlier assistance?”

He could feel Jack tense beside him, the man clearly not approving of his king being talked down to. And if Jack were to snap back, then any chance they had at convincing her might be shot in the face. So Geoff held a hand out to stop the bearded man’s advance and kept his eyes locked with the queen’s gaze. “Because he has taken Michael.” Was all he said and he knew it was enough because the cold act she’d been fronting crumbled down and her arms fell to hang back at her sides.

“What?” Her voice was softer now, shock etched in her features.

“Ryan is capable of wielding Ender magic. It has given him powers I never dreamed humans would be able to wield and with it he is now able to raise the dead, summon hurricanes, and brainwash my most fierce warrior.” Geoff continued and made sure to keep his tone even. Any time he thought or spoke of Ryan as of late, he had a habit of letting his emotions take the better of him and raise his voice. But this wasn’t the time for that. The woman standing before him clearly cared about his head knight just as much as Geoff did and he needed to sympathize with her and stay on her good side. He needed to play up the victim role to make sure she knew they had a common enemy and that teaming up would be their best bet. “He iss powerful and deadly, Lindsay. I need your help to save what remains of my kingdom and my people from his wrath.”

Lindsay stayed silent after he finished speaking and Geoff let it go uninterrupted. She was studying him, no doubt looking for any hint of a lie or a sign he was misleading her so Geoff made sure his face showed all the desperation and guilt and anguish he felt over letting things get to this point. He was responsible for his kingdom falling and for Michael being used as a pawn against them. He was man enough to admit that.

And it seemed the queen realized this because she took the few steps necessary to move closer to the king. “You think there is a chance you will be able to defeat him?” She asked simply and Geoff nodded his head.

“I think that if you agree to help us, our chances of succeeding will be doubled.”

She searched his face for a moment longer before she sighed and shook her head, letting a small grin fall over her lips. “I can not believe I am allowing this again, but alright then, King Geoff, you win. I will assist you in getting your kingdom back despite you now being in my debt twice. You will be owing me double I hope you know.”

Geoff grinned as well and bowed to her once again, relief washing over his features. They not only had two more skilled warriors on their side, but a powerful elemental queen with an army of devoted snow golems willing to fight for her. Taking back his crown was becoming a much more bright and vivid reality. “Believe me, I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope AO3 doesn't alert you guys every time I edit and tweak a chapter... because if so then oh my god guys, I'm so sorry! I tend to catch the most typos and mistakes when I'm on my phone so I'm constantly going back to fix this or reword that. So I really really hope it doesn't alert you guys each time!


	8. Chapter 8

The storm wasn't letting up which wasn’t much of a surprise if what Ray told them was true. The day Gavin and the mage set out to start their journey was dark, cold, and had enough rain to make it next to impossible to see more than ten feet in front them. They didn’t dare try to get a horse to navigate the elements as it would simply be too cruel so the lads were left to maneuver the raging storm on foot. It took two day’s for them to get to an area they should have reached in one and while it wasn’t exactly dry, the old, large oak trees gave the boys enough shelter for a decent enough nights rest.

For the most part, the pair journeyed in silence mostly due to the storm being too strong and loud. They could hardly hear one another even if they yelled so it made the most sense to stay silent. Though another reason was because in the beginning of all this, Ray had seemed set on being the group’s much needed hopeful optimistic voice. But since his return from the castle, that light seemed to have been snuffed out. The young mage was quiet as they traveled and Gavin would take it over the stares and worried gazes he had been given back at the cabin any day. While silence wasn’t something he was known for, he used this time to think without the concerned eyes of his friends and king flickering over to him every few seconds. Yes he was hurting. He’d come close to putting an arrow through his best friends skull! But the group’s tip-toeing over the subject with him around wasn’t exactly helpful in means of coping. So it was rather nice to be getting out of the depressing cabin and away from the suffocating concern.

Even if that escape was into a mad man’s rainstorm.

The large trees did a decent enough job of giving them a dry night’s sleep and when morning came, Gavin was pleased to wrap the now more-dry-than-damp muffler back around his neck. He pulled the hood over his head and got to his feet as he searched the campsite for his companion. They were to get back on the road as soon as they were awake but Gavin wasn’t finding any trace of the mage. That was concerning to say the least. Ray hadn’t gone and left him had he? Gavin was sure he hadn’t slept in that late…

He walked over towards the small fresh water stream that was located nearby in hopes of finding the mage maybe stocking up on supplies. It would be like Ray to wake up early to prepare them for their journey. The mage could be lazy but when it came to a job that needed to be done, he did so with gusto. So Gavin made his way through the thick brush with hopes of spotting the younger lad. Though, he’d be lying if he said there wasn’t a voice in his head pointing out that something awful could happened to his friend. First Ryan, then Michael… Gavin was quickly losing people so waking up without another one was a lot more concerning than he’d like to admit. He tried to ignore the nagging little voice. After all, Ray was powerful when it came to magic and had been setting protection charms on pretty much everything ever since they had fled the castle grounds. Though maybe Ender magic was powerful enough to break through them…

A hunched form dressed in familiar black and red robes came into view along the creek side and relief immediately rushed through the archer like a wave. “There you are! I thought you’d bloody went and left me behind.” The figure didn’t move and Gavin tilted his head slightly in question. Maybe he hand’t been heard? Ray didn’t even seem to know Gavin was there. The comfort that Ray was okay was starting to be replaced with some sort of fear Gavin didn’t want to acknowledge so stubbornly ignoring it, he closed the distance between them. “Ray? You okay, lad? We should probably get a move on now that the suns up, yeah?” He went to rest a hand on the younger man’s shoulder with another question of whether or not Ray was alright on his tongue when his hand went through as if nothing was there! That earned a squawk out of the archer and he scrambled back, looking as if he’d been burnt. Words seemed to fail him as he flailed unceremoniously onto his backside and stared horrified at the figure still hunched by the river side and as he was met with the hard earth below, the loud bark of a laugh that could only come from Ray rang out from his left.

The figure disappeared and Gavin jerked his attention towards where the sound was coming from to see Ray walk out, hands gripping his sides as he laughed. “You should have seen your face!”

Gavin looked less than thrilled. “Ray! You about scared the daylights out of me!”

“Your eyes were the size of saucers!” Was all Ray could say in return as he ducked his head again, a new wave of laughter causing him to double over. Gavin gave a huff of annoyance. And here he had been worried about his friends well-being! Maybe next time he’d be the one to leave Ray behind. Serve the prick right.

“I see you’ve gotten better at the ghost thing, eh?”

This earned another chuckle out of the mage before he finally regain his composure enough to walk towards Gavin. “Oh you know.” When he seemed be able to breathe normally without giggling (and Gavin’s glare finally stopped being amusing) Ray stepped over to offer his hand and help him up as if the gesture would make up for the racing Gavin’s heart just got done doing. The former thief let out another sigh of annoyance but clasped his hand and let Ray pull him back up to his feet. “It’s a work in progress.” Ray elaborated once Gavin was up and dusting the dirt and mud off his pants. “Realized with a bit of concentration I can be in control of both the projection and my actual self. And interacting with things while in that state is becoming easier.” Ray explained and he had this small grin on his face that he only got when he was truly excited about something; usually learning new magic. Much to the archers displeasure, this fact had Gavin’s earlier annoyance with the prank quickly fading and being replaced with a smile at the sight of his friends enthusiasm. It was actually pretty hard to be upset around Ray if the mage was genuinely excited. And it was impossible for Gavin not to feed into it as well. Damn him.

It was a refreshing change from the cabin. That was for sure.

“Aside from the scare, that’s pretty top, lad!”

Gavin could have swore he saw Ray’s smile grow before he ducked his head slightly trying to play his achievement down as he often had a tendency to do. He shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his glasses a bit as he spoke again. “It’s still not exactly on par with Ryan’s magic and I don’t think I’ll be able to snap Mich-uh,” And there it was. The mage fumbled on his words and while he tried to play it off with another shrug of his shoulders, just as quick as it had appeared, Gavin’s smile fell. He had played dumb before because he hadn’t felt up to making it a big deal. But this was about the seventh time one of the others had stopped themselves from mentioning Michael and it was on Gavin’s last nerve.

He was so sick of everyone babying him like he would burst into tears if the warrior was brought up. Sure, at first it took him off guard and any mention of Michael made him relive having to attempt to take down his friend, but they all were hurt by that; not just Gavin! “Ray, I’m not a damn child! You can talk about Michael without giving me a pitiful look!” The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them and after he realized he was yelling, Gavin found he didn’t want to. He’d been holding this in since the sympathetic looks started and he was finally fed up with them all. “Sure, it’s not exactly a great subject to talk about, but lord! The more you lot back pedal when you mention him and give me these sympathetic looks, the more you’re just making me annoyed! I understand that you’re trying to ‘protect me’ or what have you, but you’re just coming off like you think I’m gonna jump from the nearest tree and bloody off myself! Honestly! It’s doing nothing but minging me off! The gesture is nice but unneeded. Michael’s my friend but he’s not dead! Stop bloody acting like he is!”

By the time he was done, Gavin was slightly out of breath. Rather it was from the rant or pent up frustration, he wasn’t exactly sure and Ray was just gazing at him with an unreadable expression. But it wasn’t one of pity for once, so that was a plus he guessed. Gavin hadn’t exactly meant to go off on that little tirade but he wasn’t sorry about it either. He’d been putting up with all three men treating him like glass and he’d had enough. Geoff he understood. Man had ‘fatherly instincts’ on overdrive and when he found out Gavin had been alone much of his life, he took over the role of ‘surrogate father’ like it was his job. Jack he guessed made a little sense as well considering the guy was pretty much a teddy bear in human form. But from Ray? Gavin had at least hoped he wouldn’t continue the act without Geoff there to enforce it.

It wasn’t like Gavin didn’t understand why his friends were worried but to him they were making it a bigger issue than it needed to be. They’d snap Michael out of it. He wasn’t lost forever so they needed to stop treating it like he was. Otherwise Gavin would find his own damn way to bring Michael back.

Ray remained silent and simply watched Gavin for a moment longer, eyes studying him from behind his lenses. A long beat of silence passed between the pair and Gavin refused to break it or the eye contact he and Ray seemed to be trapped in. It was as if the mage was trying to detect any sign that Gavin didn’t mean what he said and the archer wasn’t about to show even the smallest flicker of doubt. Thankfully, Ray seemed to realize this because he gave a short nod and continued on as if nothing had happened.

And for that, Gavin’s respect and love for the man doubled.

“I don’t think I have enough of a handle on it just yet to be able to get the upper hand on Michael to try and bring him back. I still struggle with a few things and staying in that state as well as my physical one is more or less exhausting right now. Fighting Michael with both forms would probably end with both me’s pinned on his sword like a romani kabob.”

Gavin nodded in understanding and despite the mage’s rather morbid wording, it made him feel better to actually be discussing the subject of getting past one of Ryan’s many defenses without people walking on eggshells. He’d have to remember to thank Ray once this was all over with. “Well you still have time to practice, yeah? It’s only been a few days and you’ve already come a long way with it.”

“Speaking of, that does bring up something I wanted to share.” Gavin waited for Ray to go on, watching as the mage stepped over to where his things were resting. He dug through his pack before pulling out the book he’d been practically attached to lately and flipped through the pages. “I think I may have found the author of the book.”

There was a moment there where Gavin just looked at Ray utterly baffled. That was certainly a subject change to say the least. “Is that supposed to be helpful?” Gavin prompted. The book looked to be about as old as time! Whoever wrote it was more than likely long gone so he wasn’t sure how that was going to be of much help. Ray seemed to sense his train of thought because when he got to the page he’d been looking for, he went on.

“They talk a lot about Ender magic and give all these reasons it shouldn’t be messed with. Apparently the author got up close and personal with Ender magic first hand.” When Gavin just continued to stare at him blankly, clearly not following Ray’s train of thought, the mage rolled his eyes and pointed to the page he had opened. “Ryan’s not the first human to try to master Ender magic. The author of this book may very well be the first to perfect it without succumbing to a tragic end.”

“I’m still not sure how that’s going to be of much use to us. That book is about as old as Geoff’s kingdom, Ray. Unless you plan on having Ryan bring the author back from the dead to ask him how to stop his own magic, I don’t think finding the bloke is going to assist us much.”

Ray just shook his head. Gavin not catching on to his point didn’t seem to bother him in the least. He’d always been the most patient with Gavin. Maybe that was why the pair managed to be such good friends. Ray had the patience of a saint and that was very much needed when dealing with Gavin. “Ryan’s power is unlike any I’ve ever seen. But that doesn’t mean he’s completely unlocked all of it’s potential. I think the author of this book did. And given the stories, spells, and notes scrawled through this -least the ones I can read anyway-, then immortality is a very likely spell Ender magic is capable of casting.”

Another wordless moment passed while those words sunk in completely. Gavin was torn between being horrified that Ryan could possibly become immortal and shock that immortality was suddenly possible in of its self! An all-powerful Ryan was terrifying, but an _immortal_ all-powerful Ryan? Even if they did manage to bring together Geoff’s drafted warriors, what chance would they stand? Maybe the mage was on to something after all. If the author of Ray’s precious book was alive, then he’d know how to stop Ryan from succeeding… right? “So you think the author is still alive?”

“It’s possible. The pages date back fairly far but towards the end, the writing and paper is recent. As if it had been started decades ago and finished when Geoff was born.” Ray explained as he flipped a few more pages and turned the book slightly to show Gavin. There was something that looked like a very crudely drawn map scribbled down over the two pages and Gavin leaned forward to try and see if he could place the area. It looked strikingly familiar and Gavin blinked, glancing up at Ray.

“That’s just a ways away from here, isn’t it?”

“If I’m remembering Geoff’s map correctly, yes. I’m not exactly sure what it’s a map to; it’s labeled with that strange language Ryan’s scrolls were written in and I can only make out a few letters and words. But there’s that same dark rock that was around Michael’s neck drawn down in the corner here,” He gestured to the area on the page and followed the arrow leading from it to the marked spot on the map. “which is either going to lead us to the author or more clues about the magic.”

Gavin glanced at his friend then back to the book. Ray was implying he wanted to follow a blind lead into a potential trap or dangerous unknown magic when they were to get to the city as soon as possible then meet back up with their king. He worried his lower lip as he studied the page, trying in vain to make sense of the strange language scribbled around the map. Any other time, he would be all for going off with Ray into the unknown with nothing but a laugh and an eager smile. But now? Now there was so much at risk. He’d already had one friend stolen because of this unknown magic and now Ray was wanting to charge head first into it? The thief would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little hesitant on going through with this. “You sure we can afford to? What if it ends up being another trap?”

Ray shrugged. The bastard actually _shrugged_ before giving Gavin a smug grin. “Then I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Come on, Vav. It will only put us a day behind schedule at most and we might actually come across a way to put a halt on Ryan’s power. Wouldn’t you prefer to arrive at the castle gates with a better idea on what we’re up against aside from ‘scary-mad-cow-man-with-weather-manipulating-powers’?”

The mage had a point. As much as Gavin hated it, he really did. It would be beneficial for them if they could somehow figure out more about Ender magic and the way Ryan’s powers worked before blindly charging in again. This by no means meant he was excited about potentially doing this though. He studied Ray’s face, saw the determination and stubbornness reflected from behind the lenses, and realized this was going to be a losing argument regardless on if he protested or not. The man had that look in his eyes that meant he knew he was going to win but was willing to give Gavin a ‘fighting chance’. So Gavin caved with a small sigh of defeat and a faint smile as he shook his head. “You’re a bloody awful influence. I hope you realize this.”

“Yes well,” Ray said with a grin as he closed the book with one hand and patted Gavin’s shoulder with the other. “it’ll pay off in the long run so it’s worth it. Think of it as a potentially life threatening detour.”

“That does not exactly make it any more appealing, actually.” Gavin mumbled as Ray slid the book back into his pack and lifted it to rest over his shoulder. His comment went ignored, Ray far too happy about wondering into what still could be a trap to really feed into Gavin’s protests. So they once again started their travels only this time taking the path marked on the book’s map.

Either luckily or unfortunately, most of their ‘deadly detour’ was heading further away from the city and deeper into the woods. So the large trees grew thicker and protected them from the raging storm over head. It was nice to stay relatively dry Gavin guessed though the nagging voice in his head that had become paranoid of everything unknown kept repeating that this was very possibly a trap. Or even a dead end and they would have wasted a day traveling off path just to find out the author had died years prior. Neither option was all that appealing. He really hoped Ray’s lead would be just that and their outcome would be more knowledge into the dark, unheard of magic and how it worked. Maybe even a better sense of how to counter it. Finding something like an off switch for Ryan’s magic was unlikely because as with all types, Ryan would have had put his own spin on it, making it unique to him and him alone. But the base magic would remain the same and if there was a chance Ray could counter it then this trip would be the best idea the pair had ever had.

The walk this time was filled with simple chatter as Ray switched between silently checking the map and book as if it were his lifeline and exchanging stories from before the castle had fallen with Gavin. It was a nice change of pace and while they seemed to have the unspoken agreement not to bring up anything involving Ryan, the stories of he, Ray’s, and Michael’s adventures were a nice distraction from the panic his mind was trying to force him into. It was easier to ignore the fear when he was remembering the time Michael had charged into a supposed zombie infested town and screamed ‘MOGAR IS READY’ only to have the looks of shocked and confused _normal_ villagers stare back at him. The pair had lost it while Michael raged and ranted at them all the way back to the kingdom. It hadn’t been there fault the warrior acted on impulse rather than having the patience to wait and watch.

Even with the stories they exchanged, as the sun started to set, the worried little voice grew louder as the darkness around them grew thicker. They’d have to stop soon otherwise they’d be lost and any hopes of getting to the city would be gone. Ray must have realized this as well because he’d grown silent suddenly and his eyes only left the pages of the book to glance around their surroundings. When he stopped suddenly, Gavin almost didn’t realize it. He hadn’t said anything but when only one pair of footsteps reached him, Gavin turned to see the shorter man had indeed paused. “Ray? Something wrong?”

Instead of an answer, the mage nodded towards what seemed to be the mouth to a cave. It fed into the side of a hill and had a small patch of grass at the mouth before spilling back into the trees that made up the thick forest they were hiking through. This was where Ray and Gavin currently stood, Ray’s eyes not leaving the entrance. Gavin stepped closer to his friend and did his best to try and peer into the darkness. Did Ray want to sleep here for the night? Was that what this was about? It would give them protection from the rain, but there was something… off about the place. Gavin couldn’t put his finger on it, but his gut told him not to trust it. The fact that Ray had yet to speak up wasn’t exactly helping the matter. Maybe he felt it too?

Wouldn’t be surprising. Ray was more in tune with magic than most wizards hoped to be in all their decades of studying. If Gavin was picking up on something being wrong about this place, then Ray surely had to as well. Just as he’d been about to voice his worry, the mage headed straight into the cave. Or maybe not! Maybe Ray was about in tune with magic as a damn pig was! Gavin surged forward and moved to plant himself between his friend and the entrance to the darkness. “Ray, what in god’s name are you doing?!”

“It’s the place marked on the map.” Ray responded calmly like he was forcing himself to stay collected. It was… strange to say the least. Ray was stiff and serious and okay, maybe he was just as uneasy about this place as Gavin was. He moved Gavin aside and out of his way with an arm and took another step forward. “We have to go in. The author might be here.”

Gavin wasn’t about to be detoured so easily. He again stepped to stand in front of Ray, arms stretched out as if he obscured enough of the cave with his body, Ray would decide against it and move on. “Even if he is, surely you can feel that presence! We shouldn’t go in there. We shouldn’t even be near this place!” Gavin’s voice may have gotten just a little bit higher with that last sentence as Ray finally broke his gaze away from the entrance and looked at Gavin.

“But the author-“

“Is probably just as insane and powerful as Ryan! This was a bloody awful idea and I’m an idiot for being talked into it so easily! Whoever lives here isn’t going to just happily agree to help us, Ray. We shouldn’t have come.”

“I agree with you.” A chilling voice that almost made the air around them freeze called out and both boys were instantly in battle mode. Gavin moved to Ray’s side, arrow pulled back and aimed all in one single step while the mage’s hand was already drawing the thin but deadly blade attached to his belt. Both their gazes were fixed on the cave, neither one of them daring to even breathe. The tense air around them seemed to grow stronger like it had been shocked to life but neither boy dared to move; not even when a fire spouting purple and black flames came to life out of seemingly nowhere, engulfing both sides of the cave. “Coming here was a mistake and while I may not know you personally, you must be dense to have ventured this far into my woods.”

Ray seemed to have regained his breath faster than Gavin because the mage spoke first, eyes focusing into the darkness as if to try and will whomever was speaking into the light. “Your woods? I’m fairly sure you’re mistaken. This land is a part of King Ramsey’s kingdom. If the forest belongs to anyone, it’s him.” There was a bark of a laugh and Gavin’s eyes darted towards the flames which seemed to flicker with the noise as if reacting to it.

“King Ramsey? I presume you two buffoons are lackeys of his then. Shame that. His father at least had competent and polite henchmen. Never ventured too far from their home or stuck their dirty noses where they didn’t belong!” The last words came out as a loud roar and Gavin moved closer to Ray as the fire then spread across the ground and covered the entrance to the cave in flames. He gave Ray a look that the mage silently nodded at. They both knew they needed to get out of there. The colors given off by this fire was all too familiar to a certain potion master’s new abilities and they needed to get out; and fast. “Now we have bumbling idiots claiming land they’ve not ever stepped foot in and a lunatic playing with powers he doesn’t understand.” That, however, had both boys pausing in place. Gavin looked at Ray with what he was sure was shock written across his face.

Ray had turned his attention back to the mouth of the cave though and while he kept a hand on his blade, he stepped closer. “Playing with powers he doesn’t understand? What do you mean by that?”

The voice from the cave scoffed. “Have you not noticed the darkening of clouds? The way the universe seems out of balance? You may be dumb but even so you can not be that blind to the magic in the air, mage. Surely even you must be able to sense something is not right.” Ray glanced at Gavin before turning back to the mouth of the cave.

After a moment, the mage’s hand slowly left his blade and the motion sent the thief into a panic. “Ray! What the bloody hell are you doing?!” Gavin hissed as he pulled back further on his bow to cover the mage, knowing it was a matter of time before whoever – or whatever – this was attacked him. But as he took a step forward, Ray only held a hand back to stop him, the other going to pick up the book that had been dropped to the ground when they had first heard the voice. “Ray-?”

“Did you write this book?” Ray’s question was met with silence so what did the mage do? He took another step closer and Gavin swore he could he growl in frustration at the idiot! He was going to get them both killed! He lowered his weapon and moved to grip Ray’s sleeve but the younger man just shook him off, holding the book out towards the mouth of the cave. “Because we’re looking for the author and if you’re him, we would very much like to talk with you.”

Once again, there was no voice and the only sound was the oddly colored flames licking up the cave’s entrance and Gavin’s own heartbeat echoing in his ears. The air was tense and thick and the little worrisome voice in Gavin’s head was currently screaming at him to grab Ray and just run. In his experience, anytime a potential foe was silent for this long, it never boded well. As he was about to voice this concern to Ray, a large guest of wind came from the cave causing both boys to duck their heads to try and protect themselves from it. When it seemed to have subsided, they looked up and were met with a man, gaze transfixed on Ray’s book he now held in his own hands. Gavin was rooted to his spot as he gawked at the man before them.

Well, he assumed man was the proper term. The figure looked to be male. He had curly hair that was cut short and was fairly pale. He was dressed in old fashion white and black robes that dated back to years and years ago dashed with purple accents. A long cape was fashioned around his neck with the same black and green color as the tinted stone now found around Michael’s neck but the most alarming thing about the man wasn’t even that. The thing keeping both boy’s from speaking were the large, black and purple wings that jutted out from his back and the pair of gray horns sticking up from either side of the widows peak his hair came to. The fingers currently holding the book seemed to come to a slight point giving the illusion of talons. “Where did you find this?” When he spoke, the fire from around the cave seemed to react and grow to engulf the entire entrance, as if shielding or protecting it.

While Gavin’s gaze was on the flames, Ray stayed focused on the figure. Boy was the archer relieved he’d been sent with Ray. Anyone else would probably not be handling this with such a cool head. Though, then again, if he’d gone with anyone else, he wouldn’t be in this damn situation to start with.

“As you said. I serve King Ramsey. It was stored away with other books belonging to his now deceased sorcerer.” Ray’s voice, while still calm and serious, held a faint hint of caution if you knew him well enough to detect it. And Gavin did. He cast a glance over to his friend where the arm hidden behind the black cloak was clutching the hilt of the blade strapped to his side. “Did you write it?”

The figure had apparently deemed the boys not a threat because since he had revealed himself, he hadn’t spared them a second glance. “This book does not belong to you. You have no business being in possession of it.” His voice was raising and the flames around the cave licked up higher into the sky.

“Ray…” Gavin warned, tone hushed as he clutched his bow tighter. He reached out to grip Ray's wrist again, ready to yank the mage aside in case this man deemed it necessary to set the somehow reactive fire on them.

Yet still, the mage didn’t move. His gaze stayed fixated on the man, locking eyes with the silted, glowing purple ones of the man before them. “Did you write it?” He repeated and this time, the man did look up, his gaze narrowed on the men. Gavin’s grip on Ray vanished in favor of aiming the arrow he’d drawn back earlier and Ray’s stance changed to one of defense.

The air grew tense again and chills ran down Gavin’s spine as the area around them seemed to grow colder. They were definitely dealing with magic unlike any either of them had ever heard of before. Ray hadn’t been wrong about that. The winged man sized them up a moment longer before he scoffed and let his gaze fall back to the pages of the book. “Please. I have no intention of fighting you. It would be a waste of my time and a fruitless effort on your part. To answer your persistent question, yes, I am indeed the author of this book. It was stolen from me years ago by a man who feared my power. It pleases me that he was met with an ill fate.”

Ray made a face and his hand dropped away from the blade at his side much to Gavin’s shock. “That’s a little insensitive, don’t you think?” The man just scoffed again as he flipped through the pages and Gavin stood there gawking at his friend. Ray finally noticed he was being stared at and gave Gavin a look of ‘what?’. When the archer gestured to his now raised bow, the man spoke before either of them could voice a word.

“Your friend headed my advice. I have no intention to fight you and you could not bring me down if you tried. Now how about you lower that before you poke your own eye out, boy?”

“Boy?” Gavin repeated in astonishment but he did lower his weapon. While he didn’t exactly like the idea of being told he didn’t stand a chance in a fight, Ray seemed to be relaxing. And if the mage didn’t deem the situation a threat, then Gavin guessed he shouldn’t either. Even if the air around them still felt heavy and cold.

“Yes. Boy. Now care to explain to me why exactly you return my book to me the same time someone starts playing with forces they should not be meddling in?”

Both men exchanged a look before Ray turned back to face the man. “King Ramsey’s kingdom has fallen to a man using Ender magic. He was once a vagabond potion master who somehow got a hold of this magic and mastered it to overthrow Geoff and take over his kingdom.” The fire around the cave reached skyward again, flickering and burning as if angered until the man closed his eyes and took a deep breath to seemingly calm himself. As he did, the flames returned to their usual height and purple eyes were on them again, though silted more so now than before.

“So I was not wrong in calling King Ramsey’s henchmen buffoons playing with forces they do not comprehend!”

“Well I wouldn’t exactly say he doesn’t ‘comprehend’ it.”

“And I wouldn’t exactly call us buffoons either.” Gavin interjected.

“He’s slaughtered thousands and is raising the dead to fight for him. He’s brainwashed our lands most powerful warrior and as we speak, he’s learning control over the forces of nature.”

The dragon man’s eyes glowed and he looked back at the pages of his book as he flipped threw them. Silence once again came over the group and Gavin and Ray exchanged another wordless look. They weren’t dead yet so that was a step in the right direction. But the man didn’t exactly seem like the nicest of people. Or dragons. Or dragon-people… Not that Gavin had exactly met a lot of dragons before. Or dragon-people really, but still. The point remained that just because they weren’t dead yet didn’t mean the man would be willing to help them. If anything he seemed more than a little upset that they were in possession of the book. Helping them out was probably the last thing on his mind.

As if hearing their unspoken conversation, the man turned his gaze on Ray and his eyes narrowed slightly. He shut the book abruptly, making both boys turn their full attention on him, but by the time they had, he was mere inches away from Ray’s face. The mage didn’t react but Gavin did, jumping back and instantly aiming an arrow on the man. He wasn’t given a second glance by either man, Ray standing his ground and glaring back but not going to draw his weapon. Purple eyes simply bore into his, narrowing slightly as if the dark robed man was figuring things out. “You have used magic from my book.” It wasn’t a question and Ray didn’t grace him with a response. The tone was cold and accusing, eyes narrowing slightly like the man was piecing things together. “Magic you fear and but you toyed and dabbled in it? A spell you had not ever heard of and yet you tried it without so much as a second thought?!”

“To be fair, there was a second thought. And a third. And even a fourth.” Ray was apparently unable to resist the urge to be an asshole. Even when being stared down by a potential enemy. “Geoff was not exactly behind the idea at first. Well, nobody was really.” The winged man seemed stunned for a moment; either from Ray’s carelessness of casting the spell or of his care-free attitude, Gavin didn’t know, but he stood there a moment longer before finally stepping away and keeping his eyes trained on Ray.

“Show me.”

Ray arched a brow and relaxed slightly now that the man was out of his face. “Sorry, but the least you can do is buy me a meal first. I don’t just take it out on the first date.” The fire around the cave grew again and Gavin shot his friend a worried glare. Now really wasn’t the time to be a smart ass! “Let’s strike a deal first. I will show you what I can do if you agree to explain more about Ender magic to us.”

The man looked, well, appalled at that idea. Like Ray had insulted him personally. “You are suggesting that in return of you showing me magic you stole from me, I should teach you the workings of Ender magic?” Ray gave a grin and shrugged his shoulders in a ‘sounds fair to me’ motion. “Either you are very brave or very, very dense.”

“He’s both.” Gavin muttered bitterly from his spot at Ray’s side.

“A deal is a deal. I mean I don’t exactly need your help. I’ve already used it to sneak into the castle and see what the man has planned. I’ve memorized every page in your precious book. I just need a little more time and I will be more adapt at Ender magic than that man will ever hope to be.” Ray was hardcore bluffing here and Gavin knew that. They were nowhere near understanding Ryan’s magic and Ray could only make out some of the pages in that book. But the amount of confidence in his words almost even had Gavin convinced what he said was the truth.

The man took a moment to take all this in, to study Ray and weigh his choices. Finally with a sigh, he nodded and held a hand out to gesture for Ray to begin. “Fine. I will agree to your silly bargain. Show me what you are capable of and if I deem you skilled enough, I will tell you what I can about your friends new found power.”

Gavin frowned and went to explain that Ryan was no longer a ‘friend’ but Ray beat him to the punch with a nod of his head. “You have a deal. My name is Ray, by the way. Thanks for asking. And this is Gavin.” Gavin slowly raised a hand in greeting and the man nodded before folding his arms across his chest.

“And I am Kdin. Now then, let us begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So hey guys. I swear I didn't forget about this fic! Just between school and summer vacation, I've been seriously swamped for free time to write. Thanks for sticking with me and again, I'm so sorry about the wait!


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